Family Security Matters » Publications » Can We Have Universal Justice and Law?

Family Security Matters » Publications » Can We Have Universal Justice and Law?
We hear so much talk about “world opinion” and “universal values,” concepts that may deceive us into thinking these things are real. They are not real. There is no “world opinion” other than the views of the General Assembly of the UN, an assembly that gives all member nations an equal vote. The problem is that the representatives of such nations work in a United Nations that operates under western democratic rules, although most members are the elites of countries not at all democratic. Furthermore, their views do not even represent those of their less privileged countrymen, who mostly get their news coverage from the propaganda ministries of their countries.



On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the UN adopted and proclaimed the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” They then called upon all member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read, and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.”

Can you imagine such member states as Saudi Arabia or the raft of dictatorships then (and still) members of the UN preaching “basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled?” Could “right to life and liberty; freedom of expression; equality before the law; social, cultural, and economic rights be promoted in countries that routinely enslave women, execute homosexuals, and torture and execute political or religious dissidents? They didn’t then, and they do not now promote such values. Today they argue that these values are not theirs, and they have come out with a new set of “human rights” that they prefer.

What the UN promoted as “entitlements and rights” are really ideals. There are no international rights. Dictatorships (political and religious) do not believe that civil and political rights are anything other than disloyalty to the state, for which there is severe punishment.

There is no agreement on what “freedom” is. Marxists claimed that the important freedoms were freedom from hunger and joblessness, or freedom from anarchy and lawlessness. All other freedoms are a danger to “the people.”

What kind of entitlement is the right to education? Even such developing countries as India and Pakistan have little to no public education, and what passes for education in many countries is little more than memorized religious indoctrination (the Madrassas in Pakistan and Afghanistan). Girls do not have “entitlement” to education is such places.

In promoting “equality before the law,” what law? Many countries do not have written law codes, but are governed by edicts or clerical “law,” which certainly does not give women or minorities equal access to protection. And what constitutes “minority” protection? What kind of minority? Are women, homosexuals, religious or political dissidents minorities?

How do you enforce “the right to food,” when Sudan, Burma, or Somali warlords prevent food aid for their starving? Burma would not even permit food aid to come in after their country was devastated by a tsunami.

How do you have “humanitarian intervention” when the UN must recognize the sovereignty of nation states? And who will intervene? There is no international army – nor would such a force be a force for good.

Protection from genocide, one of the most important ideals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has only been executed under U.S. intervention (with NATO cooperation). The UN has never been effective in this issue. It cannot be, considering how it is organized.

The best we can do is recognize that the Universal Declaration is an ideal, and only those countries sufficiently developed to have these values enshrined in their laws care about them. We must not pretend that these values are universal, but we certainly can use the bully pulpit of such popular media as soap operas, comic books, and free radio to promote and educate the world. These are ideals badly needed in the world, but we have a long way to go.