國立臺灣大學政治科學論叢

Abstract / Chinese PDF Download

The General Assembly  of  the  United  Nations  adopted  the  Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The universality of human rights is recognized and accepted as “the common standard of achievement for all peoples  and  all  nations,  without  distinction  of  any  kind,  such  as  race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,  property,  birth  or  other  status.”  It  is  said  that  the  United  Nations shall promote “the universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and  fundamental  freedoms  for  all,”  and  no  distinction  shall  be  made  on the basis of culture. Debate  has  grown  around  the  issue  of  universal  human  rights. Generally  speaking,  some  defend  and  urge  the  idea  of  universal  human rights, while others doubt the validity of this ideal. This article focuses on theories  of  Jack  Donnelly,  whose  standpoint  is  to  justify  why  human rights  are  universal  rights,  and  to  defend  this  justification  against  the strong claims of cultural relativism. Donnelly   bases   his   justification   on   two   arguments,   the   moral universality    of    human    rights,    and    the    internationally    normative universality  of  human  rights,  to  construct  his  theory,  emphasizing  the necessary  connection  between  human  rights  and  the  consolidation  of  liberal regime. The author will discuss this theory construction and offer a brief   commentary   note.   In   the   concluding   remarks,   one   enhanced approach  toward  “genuinely  universal  human  rights”  recommended  by Abdullahi  Ahmed  An-Na c im  is  briefly  touched  upon  as  an  alternative  to Donnelly’s approach.