Promoting human rights with cultural, religious diversity in mind

KUALA LUMPUR: As the world celebrates Human Rights Day today, the Centre for Human Rights Research & Advocacy (CENTHRA) has urged United Nations (UN) human rights bodies to return to their original course in promoting human rights based on dignity and respect of the respective cultural and religious understanding of civilisations.
In a statement here today, CENTHRA said although the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) was proclaimed by the UN in 1948, as it currently stood, it failed to take into consideration the cultural and religious context of civilisations, in particular the Islamic civilisation.
Hence, in reconciling the increasingly insurmountable differences between the Islamic model of human rights and local human rights practices, the Malaysian Alliance of Civil Society Organisations in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Process (MACSA) was established with CENTHRA being among the civil society organisations in the set-up.
CENTHRA has succeeded in bringing to the attention of Malaysia, and to the world to some extent, a number of specific concerns where UDHR has gone beyond Islamic limitations.
Of particular concern was the increasing use of the term 'gender' in human rights discourse, rather than the Islamically preferable "rights of men and women" and the changes in the interpretations of family values, legislation of sexual behaviour which was also simply unacceptable to many of world cultures and religions, the statement said.
No policies or laws should be permitted if they contradict Islam, and Islam-based constitutional and legal statutes.
Enlightened Muslims everywhere must speak out their moderate and appropriate criticism to ensure the human dignity was not undermined by the demand made by the minorities or liberal groups, said the statement.
"Hence, it is CENTHRA and MACSA's fervent hope that this year's Human Rights Day will see its role propelled further towards successful engagement in the UPR process to provide the broad-based consensus of educated and enlightened Muslims the credibility and respect they deserve," it added. — Bernama