Skeletons in the closet?

Human rights from a cultural perspective

Abstract

The cultural problematic of dictatorships in the contemporary world is approached in order to contribute to the study of culture from the perspective of human rights. The cultural problematization of human rights is discussed. The article focuses on the effort to show the cultural bases of the person as well as the cultural and historical bases of these rights. It studies the Universal Declaration of 1948 as a process of human emancipation. However, he also records the existence of two opposing projects translated into practices contrary to respect for the person and his rights. It explains how, in this struggle, a particular reading and interpretation of human rights that privileges first-generation rights over others ends up being imposed. This paper develops an argument in favor of transcending the aforementioned prevailing paradigm as a way of restoring the centrality of culture and doing justice to the spirit of the 1948 Declaration. The aim is to arrive at an idea of human rights as a changing and open process that needs to be updated.