Norm essay PDF

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Norm Essay...

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To determine if a norm is already internalized, Sikkink and Finnermore offer three points for examination, namely legitimization, prominence, and intrinsic characteristics of the norm. It appears that the concept of universality in terms of human rights have been generally accepted since it was made 70 years ago, and was further strengthened during the Vienna World Conference in 1993. The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, also pointed out that the human rights being pushed for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is too “Western” and does not account for other minorities such as the Islamic states. All these suggests that the human rights that the UN is pushing for is already a norm that is being contested by norm entrepreneurs with the hopes of establishing a more nuanced approach to human rights that respects the unique context of all countries. The universality of human rights has opened up more platforms for minorities and marginalized to express themselves and let their voices be heard. This enables societies, especially in this modern time, to be more inclusive regardless of race, gender, religion, ethnicity etc. In a way, the idea that human rights have become an internalized norm allowed more people to “breathe”, particularly those from non-Western countries. Truth be told, the encompassing definition of human rights are viewed from the lens of the West. Although this definition of human rights is not only applicable to the west but also to non-western countries, it is still not extensive enough. Thus the lack of extensivity denies the claim that human rights is universal? No. It’s just that we are still in the process of expanding the horizons of human rights as we get to hear more unheard voices, and see faces of truth through diverse cultures and ways of living of people all across the world. Human rights can then be described as something that is universal yet multi-faceted, and this multi-facetism is something that we yearn to attain. This concept of the universality of human rights can be akin to the concept of love. People may consider Love as universal, yet it takes different forms and figures based on countless factors. In the past, love was only viewed romantically, but as we progress as humans, we are able to shed light on love and see all of its beauty through different shades and hues. Love for family, for the same gender, for passion, for self. As time goes by, the identity of love continues to be unveiled, yet it remains universal as it was before....