References
- Dlamini , CRM . 1991 . 'The violation of human rights in Africa' . South African Journal of Human Rights , 7 (3) : 291 – 303 . During the colonial period, European nations tended to abolish African traditional institutions, which in fact protected human rights, and replace them with European institutions and norms which were viewed as 'superior'. Europeans tended to ignore the fact that legal, political and social institutions were interwoven and together provided effective protection for many aspects of human rights.
- Henkin , Louis . 1989 . 'The universality of the concept of human rights' . Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , 506 : 10 – 16 . who states
- Shivji , Issa G . 1989 . The Concept of Human Rights in Africa , London : CODESRIA . Henkin ('The universality of the concept of human rights') alleges that most charges of cultural imperialism have come from 'Americans speaking on the Third World's behalf'. We do not find this allegation to be correct. See, for example, the summary of panel discussions on democracy in
- Kpundeh , Sahr John , ed. 1992 . Democratization in Africa: African Views, African Voices , 9 – 10 . Washington, DC : National Academy Press . which parallels much of our argument, but is focused on democracy. Christina Cerna contends that the greatest current challenge to the universality of human rights comes from the 'ideology of "soft authoritarianism'" from the more prosperous Asian states
- Cerna , Christina M . 1994 . 'Universality of human rights and cultural diversity: implementation of human rights in different socio-cultural contexts' . Human Rights Quarterly , 16 : 740 751 – 52 .
- Howard , Rhoda . 1992 . “ 'Dignity, community and human rights' ” . In Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives , Edited by: An-Na'im . 81 Philadelphia , PA : University of Pennsylvania Press . argues forcefully that most non-Western societies 'did not and do not have conceptions of human rights'. She claims that those that contend otherwise confuse 'rights, dignity and justice'. In a technical sense she is probably correct: the idea of rights (as a legal concept) belonging to 'every human' can be traced to Western philosophy. At the same time, however, Westerners failed to apply it to all human beings (ie by practising segregation, colonialism, gender discrimination) while those in more traditional societies probably took a broader view of 'rights' than in a merely legal sense. If it really was impossible to have 'human rights' in a 'status-based' society, it was certainly impossible to speak of human rights in the segregated USA
- Walker , RBJ . 1988 . One World, Many Worlds: Struggles for a Just World Peace , 150 – 151 . Boulder , CO : Lynne Rienner . Issa Shivji contends that: right is not [to be] theorised simply as a legal right, which implies both a static and an absolutist paradigm, in the sense of an entitlement or claim, but a means of struggle. In that sense it is akin to righteousness rather than right. Seen as a means of struggle, 'right' is therefore not a standard granted as charity from above but a standard-bearer around which people rally for the struggle from below
- Shivji . The Concept of Human Rights in Africa 71
- Ellenberger , D Fred . 1969 . History of the Basuto Ancient and Modem , 298 New York : Negro Universities Press .
- Ibid, p. 266.
- Arbousset , T and Daumas , F . 1968 . Narrative of an Exploratory Tour to the North-east of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope , 278 Cape Town : AS Robertson .
- Shapera , I . 1953 . The Tswana , 37 London : International African Institute .
- Mackenzie , John . 1871 . Ten Years North of the Orange River , 131 – 132 . Edinburgh : Edmonston and Douglas .
- Eze , Osita . 1990 . “ 'Human rights issues and violations: the African experience' ” . In Emerging Human Rights , Edited by: Shepherd , George W and Anikpo , Mark OC . 90 – 91 . New York : Greenwood Press .
- Oquaye , Mike . 1995 . 'Human rights and the transition to democracy under the PNDC in Ghana' . Human Rights Quarterly , 17 (3) : 560
- Donnelly , Jack . 1990 . “ 'Human rights and western liberalism' ” . In Human Rights in Africa , Edited by: An-Na'im and Deng , Francis M . Washington, DC : Brookings Institution . See, however, the comparative treatment of the social-democratic/radical and mainstream versions of Western human rights discourse by
- Eze . “ 'Human rights issues and violations' ” . 98 Some African theorists make almost identical arguments concerning economic disadvantage and the nature of equality within a society. Eze, for example, argues that equality before the law is largely an illusory right to many Africans because the ability to pursue a legal claim by the average African is handicapped by poverty (the inability to hire counsel) and poor education (the failure to recognise that a legal claim exists). In criminal situations there is the same dual handicap: inability to hire counsel to defend oneself and ignorance of technical laws that are alien to local custom. Similar concerns would apply to minority groups and immigrants within the USA or Western Europe
- Sawyerr , Akilgpa . 1990 . “ 'The politics of adjustment policy' ” . In The Human Dimension of Africa's Persistent Economic Crisis , Edited by: Adedeji , Adebayo , Rasheed , Sadig and Morrison , Melody . 216 New York : Hans Zell .
- Agbese , Pita Ogaba . 1994 . “ 'The state versus human rights advocates in Africa: the case of Nigeria' ” . In Africa, Human Rights and the Global System , Edited by: McCarthy-Arnolds , Eileen , Penna , David R and Sobrepena , Joy Cruz . 159 – 161 . Westport , CT : Greenwood Press .
- Shivji . The Concept of Human Rights in Africa 70
- Ihonvbere , Julius O . “ 'Underdevelopment and human rights violations in Africa' ” . In Emerging Human Rights , Edited by: Shepherd and Anikpo . 64 New York : Greenwood Press .
- Nzouankeu , Jacques-Mariel . 1991 . 'The African attitude to democracy' . International Social Science Journal , 43 : 373 – 85 . argues against any African conception of human rights. His argument, however, is premised upon the assumption that an African conception precludes rights such as democracy, freedom of speech and due process. We believe that a careful reading of African tradition and supporters of the African conception does not support this assumption
- Okoye , Mokwugo . “ 'The African context of human rights: development, equality and justice' ” . In Emerging Human Rights Edited by: Shepherd and Anikpo . 175
- Mazrui , Ali A . 1986 . The Africans: A Triple Heritage , 206 – 207 . Boston , MA : Little, Brown . We find instructive Mazrui's analysis of colonialism's impact on precolonial African systems of 'criminal' law. Colonial authorities replaced traditional systems of fines and compensation for victims, with 'modern' systems that imprisoned wrongdoers. This shifted the focus from a victim-centred system to a criminal-centred system
- Kadish , Sanford H , ed. 1983 . “ 'Victimology' ” . In Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice , 1612 New York : Free Press . It is ironic that from the 1970s in the USA there has been a strong call for protecting victim's rights
- Commission on Global Governance . 1995 . Our Global Neighborhood , 51 – 52 . New York : Oxford University Press . A concern for equity is not tantamount to an insistence on equality, but it does call for deliberate efforts to reduce gross inequalities, to deal with factors that cause or perpetuate them, and to promote fairer sharing of resources
- Eze . “ 'Human rights issues and violations' ” . 90 Eze criticises Keba M'Baye's 'romantic' formulation of traditional African socialism
- Mazrui . The Africans 186 – 187 . Mazrui criticises Julius Nyerere's contention that socialism was indigenous to precolonial Africa. For our purposes in this paper, the accuracy of such a vision is not as important as the vision's symbolic power to mobilise and establish an ideal to measure current human rights situations against
- Baehr , Peter R . 1995 . 'The universality of human rights' . paper presented to the 36th Annual Conference of the International Studies Association . 1995 , Chicago . However, as Baehr also points out, 'there is a big difference between universality in standard setting and universality in implementation'. (p 3)
- United Nations Development Programme . 1994 . Human Development Report 1994 , New York : Oxford University Press .
- Kelso , BJ . 1993 . 'The fight for equal rights' . Africa Report , 38 (5) : 35 – 37 .
- Schoepf , Brooke Grundfest . 1992 . “ 'Gender relations and development: political economy and cultures' ” . In Twenty-First Century Africa: Towards a New Vision of Self-Sustainable Development , Edited by: Seidman , Ann and Anang , Frederich . Trenton , NJ : Africa World Press .
- Huston , Perdita . 1979 . Third World Women Speak Out , New York : Praeger . Ibid
- Yates , Barbara . 1982 . “ 'Colonialism, education, and work: sex differentiation in colonial Zaire' ” . In Women and Work in Africa , Edited by: Bay , Edna . Boulder , CO : Westview Press .
- Longhurst , Richard . 1982 . “ 'Resource allocation and the sexual division of labor: a case study of a Moslem Hausa village in northern Nigeria' ” . In Women and Development: the sexual division of Labour in rural societies: a study prepared for the international labour office , Edited by: Beneria , Lourdes . 100 New York : Praeger .
- Heise , Lori . 1989 . 'Cries of gender' . Worldwatch , March-April : 19
- Burstyn , Linda . 1995 . 'Health: female circumcision comes to America' . Atlantic Monthly , October : 33 This form of mutilation has existed for generations in many societies. Between 100 and 130 million women globally and 80 million in Africa have been tortured in this fashion. The rates of FCM vary from country to country, for example, Somalia is estimated at 100 with Ethiopia at over 90 and Egypt at 50
- James , Stephen A . 1994 . 'Reconciling international human rights and cultural relativism: the case of female circumcision' . Bioethics , 8 (1) See James' treatment of these arguments. James points out that FGM can be found in both Christian and Islamic countries in Africa, though it is not mentioned in either the Bible or the Koran. He also includes a lengthy discussion of the adverse health consequences associated with FGM
- Galigher , Anne . 1993 . 'The United Nations, human rights and traditional practices affecting the health of women and children' . Development , For further discussion, see
- Heise . “ 'Cries of gender' ” . 13 and Burstyn, 'Health'
- Walker , Alice and Parmar , Pratibha . 1993 . Warrior Marks Female Genital Mutilation and the Sexual Binding of Women , New York : Harcourt Brace . for a detailed account of indigenous activists who sum up the culture argument for FGM this way 'there is a difference between torture and culture. I maintain that culture is not child abuse, it is not battering. People customarily do these things just as they customarily enslaved people, but slavery is not culture, nor is mutilation' (p 270). Walker and Parmar also note a systemic barrier to overcoming FGM. They quote a young woman who'd become famous in France for requesting asylum so as to avoid FGM, 'No, my mother would never understand, because she believes that mutilation is written in the Koran. She can't read it herself, she is illiterate, so she has to take the word of the imam and my father' (p 279)
- Gilbert , Arthur N and Cole , James F . 1995 . 'Revolutionary theory and gender theory: the Iranian case' . paper presented to the 36th Annual Conference of the International Studies Association . 1995 , Chicago . One need look no further then the US wartime economy of World War II. Women were welcomed into the 'unwomanly' world of work because the end goal of victory justified the suspension of cultural norms. See Gilbert and Cole's comparison of post-revolutionary Iran and Word War II Germany. Both required massive participation of women in public life during wartime
- Sullivan , Donna . 1995 . 'Establishing environment as a human right' . Denver Journal of International Law and Policy , 19 : 301 – 342 . Charlesworth, 1995; and
- Hunt , Linda . 1992 . The Family Romance of the French Revolution , Los Angles : University of California Press .
- Bunch , Charlotte . 1995 . “ 'Transforming human rights from a feminist perspective' ” . In Women Rights Human Rights: International Feminist Perspective , Edited by: Peters , Julie and Wolper , Andrea . New York : Routledge .
- Alverson , Hoyt . 1978 . Mind in the Heart of Darkness: Value and Self-Identity Among the Tswana of Southern Africa , 137 – 138 . New York : Yale University Press .
- Deng , Francis Mading . 1972 . The Dinka of the Sudan , 107 New York : Holt Rinehart & Winston . Alverson (ibid) also emphasises the importance of equitable distribution of resources and wealth within the Tswana value system. Similar beliefs can be found among the Dinka
- Burchell , William J . 1967 . Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa , Vol II , 451 New York : Johnson .
- Holub , Emil . 1981 . Seven Years in South Africa, Vol I , London : Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington .
- Ellenberger . History of the Basuto 266
- Moffat , Robert . 1969 . Missionary Labours and Scenes in Southern Africa , 330 – 331 . New York : Johnson .
- Shapera , I . 1957 . A Handbook of Tswana Law and Custom , 209 London : Frank Cass .
- MacKenzie , John . 1887 . Austral-Africa , 24 – 25 . London : Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington .
- Holub . 1881 . Seven Years in South Africa , Vol II , 38 London : Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington .
- Maylam , Paul . 1989 . Rhodes, the Tswana and the British , 210 Westport , CT : Greenwood Press .
- Campbell , Alec C . 'Traditional utilisation of the Okavango Delta' . Proceedings of the Symposium on the Okavango Delta and its Future Utilization . Gaborone . pp. 167 Botswana Society .
- Abucar , Mohamed H and Molutsi , Patrick . 1993 . 'Environmental policy in Botswana: a critique' . Africa Today , 40 (1) : 61 – 73 . It should be noted that Abucar & Molutsi attempt to explain environmental degradation in Botswana by pointing out the cultural continuity that has persisted despite changing patterns of societal realities such as urbanisation. They claim that because cultural innovation has not taken place, old cultural patterns are followed leading to environmental degradation. We agree with such an analysis, but not that one probable way of promoting cultural innovation is through preserving cultural values and procedures while attempting to change practices
- Brookfield , Harold and Padoch , Christine . 1994 . 'Appreciating agrodiversity: a look at the dynamism and diversity of indigenous farming practices' . Environment , 36 (5) : 39
- Mutua , Makau wa . 1994 . 'Human rights and state despotism in Kenya' . Africa Today , 41 (4) : 57 – 65 .
- Hillman , Eugene . 1994 . 'The pauperization of the Maasai in Kenya' . Africa Today , 41 (4) : 50 – 56 .
- Thorme , Melissa . 1991 . 'Establishing environment as a human right' . Denver Journal of International Law and Policy , 19 : 301 – 342 . For example, Thorme only cites the Banjul Charter in passing and Gormley dismisses it after a few sentences of analysis
- Gormley , W Paul . 1990 . 'The legal obligation of the international community to guarantee a pure and decent environment: the expansion of human rights norms' . Georgetown International Environmental Law Review , 3 : 85 – 116 . A brief but more sympathetic evaluation of the organisation of African Unity's work is provided by
- Kane , Michael J . 1993 . 'Promoting political rights to protect the environment' . Yale Journal of International Law , 18 : 389 – 411 .
- Eckstein , Gabriel and Gitlin , Miriam . 1995 . 'Human rights and environmentalism: forging common ground' . Human Rights Brief , 2 (3) : 8
- Bayalama , Sylvain . 1994 . “ 'Environmental degradation, World Bank projects, and the right to a clean environment' ” . In Economic Justice in Africa , Edited by: Shepherd , George W Jr and Sonko , Karomo NM . 64 – 68 . Westport , CT : Greenwood Press .
- Abucar and Molutsi . “ 'Environmental policy in Botswana' ” . 62
- Mabogunje , Akin . 1995 . 'The environmental challenges in sub-Saharan Africa' . Environment , 37 (4) : 31 – 35 .
- Branaman , Brenda . 31 July 1990 . “ 'Africa: environmental issues' ” . In CRS Report For Congress , 31 July , 1 Washington, DC : Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress .
- Hitchcock , Robert K . 1994 . 'International human rights, the environment, and indigenous peoples' . Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy , 5 : 20 Hitchcock quotes a Zimbabwean woman: "Just because these people say they are helping preserve the environment does not mean that they should be able to violate our human rights."
- Hitchcock . 1993 . 'Africa and discovery: human rights, environment, and development' . American Indian Culture and Research Journal , 17 (1) : 129 – 152 . See also his discussion of the Basarwa in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana (pp 16-18)
- Penna , David R . 1993 . 'Regulation of the environment in traditional society as a basis for the right to a satisfactory environment' . Africa Today , 40 (1) : 82 – 92 .
- Appiah , Kwame Anthony . 1992 . In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture , 26 New York : Oxford University Press . Whatever Africans share, we do not have a common traditional culture, common language, a common religion or conceptual vocabulary … we do not even belong to a common race'
- Ibid, p. 72.
- Nzouankeu . “ 'The African attitude to democracy' ” . 377
- Stammers , Neil . 1995 . 'A critique of social approaches to human rights' . Human Rights Quarterly , 17 (3) : 488 – 508 .
- Eze . “ 'Human rights issues and violations' ” . 88