Revisiting human responsibilities: prospects and challenges

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dc.contributor.advisorAkokpari, Johnen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Liesl Ann Lynnen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-09-15T10:11:17Z
dc.date.available2015-09-15T10:11:17Z
dc.date.issued2013en_ZA
dc.description.abstractSince the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948), the extent to which individuals should bear responsibilities for the fulfilment of universal human rights has been a contentiously debated subject. Despite conflicting value-based claims, the approach of international human rights law traditionally has been to recognise states as primary obligation bearers. While the UDHR focuses primarily on state obligations, deliberately unspecified duties of individuals are included under Article 29(1). The meaning of these duties has remained contested, often by relativist critics claiming that a stronger focus on responsibilities would provide a more balanced approach to human rights. The end of the Cold War brought a renewed interest in the normative potential of human rights and a parallel renewal of relativist objections to the universality of the UDHR. In this context transnational campaigns have emerged to advocate for a universal declaration of human responsibilities complementary to the UDHR. The issue has received attention from a number of initiatives, including those of United Nations bodies and agencies and of nongovernmental organisations. The most prominent of these initiatives have received firm opposition from influential Western state and non-state actors. Approaching the topic from a constructivist perspective, this dissertation draws on the social movement literature on the international political opportunity structure to argue that the activities of opponents to human responsibilities initiatives, particularly their framing of human responsibilities as having the potential to undermine and weaken the international human rights framework, have constrained the political opportunities available to human responsibilities campaigns.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSmith, L. A. L. (2013). <i>Revisiting human responsibilities: prospects and challenges</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Political Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13947en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSmith, Liesl Ann Lynn. <i>"Revisiting human responsibilities: prospects and challenges."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Political Studies, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13947en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSmith, L. 2013. Revisiting human responsibilities: prospects and challenges. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Smith, Liesl Ann Lynn AB - Since the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948), the extent to which individuals should bear responsibilities for the fulfilment of universal human rights has been a contentiously debated subject. Despite conflicting value-based claims, the approach of international human rights law traditionally has been to recognise states as primary obligation bearers. While the UDHR focuses primarily on state obligations, deliberately unspecified duties of individuals are included under Article 29(1). The meaning of these duties has remained contested, often by relativist critics claiming that a stronger focus on responsibilities would provide a more balanced approach to human rights. The end of the Cold War brought a renewed interest in the normative potential of human rights and a parallel renewal of relativist objections to the universality of the UDHR. In this context transnational campaigns have emerged to advocate for a universal declaration of human responsibilities complementary to the UDHR. The issue has received attention from a number of initiatives, including those of United Nations bodies and agencies and of nongovernmental organisations. The most prominent of these initiatives have received firm opposition from influential Western state and non-state actors. Approaching the topic from a constructivist perspective, this dissertation draws on the social movement literature on the international political opportunity structure to argue that the activities of opponents to human responsibilities initiatives, particularly their framing of human responsibilities as having the potential to undermine and weaken the international human rights framework, have constrained the political opportunities available to human responsibilities campaigns. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 T1 - Revisiting human responsibilities: prospects and challenges TI - Revisiting human responsibilities: prospects and challenges UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13947 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/13947
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSmith LAL. Revisiting human responsibilities: prospects and challenges. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Political Studies, 2013 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13947en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Political Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherInternational Relationsen_ZA
dc.titleRevisiting human responsibilities: prospects and challengesen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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