Different nations have differing interpretations of what human rights mean. Authoritarian regimes have generally held a minimalist view while democracies have mostly propounded a maximalist view of what constitutes human rights. Differences over human rights violations have resulted in actual conflicts or at times, a war of words. This essay examines the Israeli-Palestine conflict and the US-China relationship concerning perceptions about human rights and human rights violations.
The Israeli-Palestinian problem is one such conflict where both sides accuse each other of human rights violations. After the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, the Palestinians resisted peacefully with no success leading to the armed resistance as typified by Hamas and Hezbollah. In 2007, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that “for two years there has been a relentless firing of Kassam rockets in order to hit Israeli civilians living in their homes and at their places of work” (Prime Minister’s Media Adviser, 2007). This action, according to Israelis violated Israeli human rights. For its part, the Palestinian leadership under President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of gross human rights violation by denying the Palestinians free passage from Gaza to the West Bank and of economic blockade. In 2008, President Abbas accused Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem by banning the building of Palestinian homes and cutting the city off from the West Bank’ (Foreign Policy Association, 2008). Israelis claim that they are acting in pure self-defense to protect their sovereignty as promulgated in the UN charter. The Palestinians too claim to be fighting for their sovereignty as ‘peoples under occupation’ who have the right to resist under international law.
A similar argument is used by China to defend its alleged violations of Human rights. Chap.1, Article 2 of the UN Charter is based on the principle of sovereign equality of all nations. The Article makes it clear that the UN would not intervene in matters which are “within the domestic jurisdiction of any state” (UN Charter, 2009). The clash of perception on what constitutes Human rights arises out of marked cultural differences. Asian values exalt collective good as opposed to individual freedoms which are the benchmark of Western democratic ideals. Under the Chinese value system, restrictions on the movement of people, forcibly dictating types of professions, collective farming, and controls over education, employment and marriage were acceptable parameters. Dong (2008) states that “only 17 years ago, the Chinese word “human rights” was considered capitalist (p. 2)”. The very controls were anathema to American leaders who have diligently reflected China’s poor human rights record in every annual report to Congress. China on its part accuses the US of human rights violations in its own country and abroad (Wines, 2009, p. 7). American ideology considers ‘spreading democracy everywhere’ its sovereign right. After the Tiananmen massacre of 1989, the Bush administration had even imposed sanctions against China stopping high-level contacts and weapons sales. China, however, has repeatedly stated in the UN Security Council meetings that “[T]he principle of respect for State sovereignty and non-interference in a country’s internal affairs must always be observed. Matters concerning a country should […] be settled by its own people. (Staehle, 2006, p. 10)”.
Nonetheless, this war of words has had its salutatory effect on Chinese leadership. China today is freer than it was thirty years ago. Thus it can be concluded that conflict over human rights occurs due to differing perceptions of sovereignty and cultural context which nonetheless produces ameliorating effects albeit, at its own pace.
Works Cited
Dong, Y. (2008). Human Rights in China: The Chinese Perspective. Web.
Foreign Policy Association. (2008). Ethnic cleansing and Palestinians. Web.
Prime Minister’s Media Adviser. (2007). Remarks by PM Olmert at the press conference with Egyptian President Mubarak. Web.
Staehle, S. (2006). China’s Participation in The United Nations Peacekeeping Regime. Web.
UN Charter. (2009). Charter of the United Nation. Web.
Wines, M. (2009). China Says U.S. Distorts Facts in Report on Rights. Web.