“The Universal Declaration was adopted at a time when most Third World countries were still under colonial rule. ’Human rights' are only a cover for Western intervention in the affairs of the developing world.
Developing countries, some also argue, cannot afford human rights since the tasks of nation-building and economic development are still unfinished. Suspending or limiting human rights is thus the sacrifice of the few for the benefit of the many.
The human-rights concept is understood and upheld only by a small Westernized minority in developing countries; it does not extend to the lowest rungs of the ladder. Universality in these circumstances would be a universality of the privileged.
Many also object to specific rights which they say reflect Western cultural bias: the right, for instance, to political pluralism, the right to paid vacations (always good for a laugh in the sweatshops of the developing world)” (Shashi Tharoor, 2001)
Are Human Rights universal?
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