Business Ethics - Philosophy of Human Rights
Philosophy of Human Rights
Reading 1. Denis Arnold, “The Human Rights Obligations of Multinational
Corporations”
I have had the opportunity to teach a number of courses on the philosophy of human rights. To supplement the Arnold reading, I thought that I would give you some basic background regarding the central philosophical and legal debates over the nature of human rights.
What are human rights?
Human rights are international norms that help to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses. Examples of human rights are the right to freedom of religion, the right to a fair trial when charged with a crime, the right not to be tortured, and the right to engage in political activity. These rights exist in morality and in law at the national and international levels. They are addressed primarily to governments, requiring compliance and enforcement.
The main sources of the contemporary conception of human rights are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the many human rights documents and treaties that followed in international organizations such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organization of American States, and the African Union.
The philosophy of human rights addresses questions about the existence, content, nature, universality, justification, and legal status of human rights. The strong claims made on behalf of human rights (for example, that they are universal, or that they exist independently of legal enactment as justified moral norms) frequently provoke skeptical doubts and countering philosophical defences. Reflection on these doubts and the responses that can be made to them has become a sub-field of political and legal philosophy.
The General Idea of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) sets out a list of over two dozen specific human rights that countries should respect and protect. These specific rights can be divided into six or more
Reading 1. Denis Arnold, “The Human Rights Obligations of Multinational
Corporations”
I have had the opportunity to teach a number of courses on the philosophy of human rights. To supplement the Arnold reading, I thought that I would give you some basic background regarding the central philosophical and legal debates over the nature of human rights.
What are human rights?
Human rights are international norms that help to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses. Examples of human rights are the right to freedom of religion, the right to a fair trial when charged with a crime, the right not to be tortured, and the right to engage in political activity. These rights exist in morality and in law at the national and international levels. They are addressed primarily to governments, requiring compliance and enforcement.
The main sources of the contemporary conception of human rights are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the many human rights documents and treaties that followed in international organizations such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organization of American States, and the African Union.
The philosophy of human rights addresses questions about the existence, content, nature, universality, justification, and legal status of human rights. The strong claims made on behalf of human rights (for example, that they are universal, or that they exist independently of legal enactment as justified moral norms) frequently provoke skeptical doubts and countering philosophical defences. Reflection on these doubts and the responses that can be made to them has become a sub-field of political and legal philosophy.
The General Idea of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) sets out a list of over two dozen specific human rights that countries should respect and protect. These specific rights can be divided into six or more