A Magna Carta for all Humanity

Homing in on Human Rights

Francesca Klug

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317425717
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politik & Internationale Beziehungen
• Subtopic: Politik

The Magna Carta, sealed in 1215, has come to stand for the rule of law, curbs on executive power and the freedom to enjoy basic liberties. When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations in 1948, it was heralded as 'a Magna Carta for all human kind'. Yet in the year in which this medieval Charter's 800th anniversary is widely celebrated, the future of the UK's commitment to international human rights standards is in doubt.

Are 'universal values' commendable as a benchmark by which to judge the rest of the world, but unacceptable when applied 'at home'? Francesca Klug takes us on a journey through time, exploring such topics as 'British values, ' 'natural rights, ' 'enlightenment values' and 'legal rights, ' to convey what is both distinctive and challenging about the ethic and practice of universal human rights. It is only through this prism, she argues, that the current debate on human rights protection in the UK can be understood.

This book will be of interest to students of British Politics, Law, Human Rights and International Relations.

Subject Index

Abraham, Ann 177, 178

Abrahamic faiths 98; see also Christianity; Christians; Islam; Jews; Judaism; Muslims

accountability 65, 162, 173, 201, 208

Acts of Parliament 7, 10, 134, 162, 164, 170, 172, 230, 243, 261–2

Adorno, Theodor 17

Afghanistan: conflict in 57; ECHR jurisdiction in 198; human rights violations in 95, 198; portrayal of 81; voting in favor of UDHR 103n5

Africa 30, 41, 56–8, 68–9, 83, 227, 233; see also East Africa; sub-Saharan Africa; Sudan

Africa Commission for Human and People’s Rights 30, 58

African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) 30, 57–8, 227

African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights 57

African Union (AU) 56

Age Concern 169

agreement theory 108

Al Qaida 132

Alibhai-Brown, Yasmin 82, 89

American Anthropological Association (AAA) 54–5, 108

American Bar Association 9

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) 235

American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) 30, 227

American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man 227

American Federation of Labour 25

American Institute of Law 20

American Jewish Committee 21, 23, 96, 112

American National Security Agency 186

American Revolution 112, 255, 273

Amis, Martin 16

Amnesty International 95, 159, 163, 186

Amritsar massacre 18

Anarchical Fallacies (Bentham) 109

An-Naim, Abdullahi A. 37, 55, 58, 109, 188

Another Bill of Rights? (Society of Conservative Lawyers) 244

anti-colonialism 52

anti-discrimination protection 41, 42, 99, 101, 115, 128

anti-foundationalism 63, 110

anti-immigrant legislation 160, 243

anti-Semitism 26, 111; see also Holocaust

anti-slavery campaigns 122; see also slavery

anti-terrorism legislation 250, 272; s...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• CONTENTS
• Copyright information
• Preface and acknowledgements
• Foreword
• List of abbreviations
• INTRODUCTION The Magna Carta: marvel or myth?
• SECTION I Human rights: a time-traveller’s guide
• SECTION I Anthology
• SECTION II When universal human rights hit home
• SECTION II Anthology
• Select bibliography
• Subject index
• Case index