Western Imperialism Issues

While it is absolutely true that human rights is the most evolved form of Western imperialism and it has been used selectively to justify gross human rights violations, the USA opposed 150 times between 1984 and 1987 resolutions furthering human rights, peace, nuclear disarmament and economic injustice. It is equally true that human rights is also the only common language and framework for the oppressed and victims of that imperialism. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a product of thousands of struggles the world over and it needs to be evolved and become more inclusive, especially of collective rights. The Guiness Book of records shows that the declaration is the most translated document in the world. It is available in 360 languages,

The main challenge now is not so much about the principles and norms of HR international law but more about the way in which the latter are implemented both nationally and internationally.

3.1 EMERGING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

The evolution of business models, techniques or behavioral changes has given rise to new phenomena requiring the design and implementation of a transnational legal framework commensurate with these new challenges. These new issues can be broken down into three categories:

Economic globalization, conflicts and their impact on the renewed understanding of the issue of population mobility, the fight against terrorism, corporate responsibility in the field of HR, the relationship between democracy and HR, and finally the right to intervene:

The effects of the financial and economic crisis and the decline of the welfare state have more severe repercussions on the poorest and the most vulnerable. However, poverty is both a cause and a consequence of a series of violations of mutually reinforcing fundamental human

While the primary responsibility for ensuring respect for HR lies with States parties to HR treaties and conventions, it has become difficult for States, especially the poorest one, to fulfill this task in a globalized economy. The private sector, not subject to these commitments, can influence HR enjoyment much more than the State: a striking feature of globalization is the growing power of the private sector, particularly transnational companies that are out of control. It is in this spirit that the Human Rights Council in 2011 endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, a global standard to prevent and counteract the potential negative impact of corporate activity on human rights.

The right to intervene is a new standard that is justified by the fight against serious violations of HR, in principle inalienable and universal as they are based on reason and not on cultural idiosyncrasies and are valid for all countries and all peoples. The current debate focuses on antagonisms and contradictions between two “principles” of international law:

• HR enforceability, which implies HR institutional supranationality and national sovereignty subsidiarity, on the one