Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam

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The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI) is a declaration of the member states of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, which provides an overview on the Islamic perspective on human rights, and affirms Islamic Shari'ah as its sole source. CDHRI declares its purpose to be "general guidance for Member States [of the OIC] in the Field of human rights". This declaration is usually seen as an Islamic counterpart of and a response to the post-World War II United NationsUniversal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948.

Contents

[edit] History

Predominantly Muslim countries, such as Sudan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, frequently criticized the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for its perceived failure to take into account the cultural and religious context of non-Western countries. In 1981, the post-revolutionary Iranian representative to the United Nations Said Rajaie-Khorassani articulated the position of his country regarding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by saying that the UDHR was "a secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition", which could not be implemented by Muslims without trespassing the Islamic law.[1]

The CDHRI was adopted on August 5, 1990 by 45 foreign ministers of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to serve as a guidance for the member states in the matters of human rights.

[edit] Contents

The Declaration starts by forbidding "any discrimination on the basis of race, colour, language, belief, sex, religion, political affiliation, social status or other considerations". It continues on to proclaim the sanctity of life, and declares the "preservation of human life" as "a duty prescribed by the Shariah". In addition the CDHRI guarantees "non-belligerents such as old men, women and children", "wounded and the sick" and "prisoners of war", the right to be fed, sheltered and access to safety and medical treatment in times of war. If affirmed, this would indicate that acts of terrorism are violations of human rights.

The CDHRI gives men and women the "right to marriage" regardless of their race, colour or nationality, but not religion. In addition women are given "equal human dignity", "own rights to enjoy", "duties to perform", "own civil entity", "financial independence", and the "right to retain her name and lineage", though not equal rights in general. The Declaration makes the husband responsible for the social and financial protection of the family. The Declaration gives both parents the rights over their children, and makes it incumbent upon both of them to protect the child, before and after birth. The Declaration also entitles every family the "right to privacy". It also forbids the demolition, confiscation and eviction of any family from their residence. Furthermore, should the family get separated in times of war, it is the responsibility of the State to "arrange visits or reunions of families".

Article 10 of the Declaration states: "Islam is the religion of unspoiled nature. It is prohibited to exercise any form of compulsion on man or to exploit his poverty or ignorance in order to convert him to another religion or to atheism." Thus Article 10 clearly enumerates the ways in which it is forbidden to convert someone from Islam to another religion or to atheism. Exploitation of "ignorance" is one of the forbidden ways. But since in an Islamic state, "ignorance" can be attributed to anyone who is non-Muslim, Article 10 can be used to outlaw apostasy from Islam whatever the circumstances. This result accords with all the main schools of Islamic law, which prescribe the death penalty for sane, adult males (and perhaps females, though that is more debated) who leave the Islamic faith. This also accords with a statement repeatedly made by Muhammad according to the most canonical hadith collection, Sahih Bukhari: "If someone changes his (Islamic) religion, then kill him."

The Declaration protects each individual from arbitrary arrest, torture, maltreatment and/or indignity. Furthermore, no individual is to be used for medical or scientific experiments. It also prohibits the taking of hostages of any individual "for any purpose" whatsoever. Moreover, the CDHRI guarantees the presumption of innocence; guilt is only to be proven through a trial in "which he [the defendant] shall be given all the guarantees of defence". The Declaration also forbids the promulgation of "emergency laws that would provide executive authority for such actions". Art. 19 stipulates that there are no other crimes or punishments than those mentioned in the Sharia, which include corporal punishment (whippings, amputations) and capital punishment.[2] The right to hold public office can only be exercised in accordance with the Sharia,[3] which forbids Muslims to submit to the rule of non-Muslims.

The Declaration also emphasizes the "full right to freedom and self-determination", and its opposition to enslavement, oppression, exploitation and colonialism. The CDHRI declares the rule of law, establishing equality and justice for all. The CDHRI also guarantees all individuals the "right to participate, directly or indirectly in the administration of his country's public affairs". The CDHRI also forbids any abuse of authority 'subject to the Islamic Shari'ah.'

Article 22(a) of the Declaration states that "Everyone shall have the right to express his opinion freely in such manner as would not be contrary to the principles of the Shari’ah." 22(b) states that "Everyone shall have the right to advocate what is right, and propagate what is good, and warn against what is wrong and evil according to the norms of Islamic Shari’ah." 22(c) states: "Information is a vital necessity to society. It may not be exploited or misused in such a way as may violate sanctities and the dignity of Prophets, undermine moral and ethical values or disintegrate, corrupt or harm society or weaken its faith." 22(d) states "It is not permitted to arouse nationalistic or doctrinal hatred or to do anything that may be an incitement to any form of racial discrimination."

The CDHRI concludes in article 24 and 25 that all rights and freedoms mentioned are subject to the Islamic Shariah, which is the declaration's sole source[4].

The CDHRI declares "true religion" to be the "guarantee for enhancing such dignity along the path to human integrity". It also places the responsibility for defending those rights upon the entire Ummah.

[edit] Criticism

The CDHRI has been criticized for falling short of international human rights standards by not upholding the fundamentality of equality of rights for all.

Whereas the Universal declaration states

'Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.'

CDHRI does not guarantee equal rights, but merely equal dignity:

'All men are equal in terms of basic human dignity and basic obligations and responsibilities, without any discrimination on the basis of race, colour, language, belief, sex, religion, political affiliation, social status or other considerations.'

In particular, CDHRI has been criticised for failing to guarantee freedom of religion.[5]

In a joint written statement submitted by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, the Association for World Education (AWE) and the Association of World Citizens (AWC): a number of concerns were raised, that the CDHRI limits Human Rights, Religious Freedom and Freedom of Expression. It concludes: "The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam is clearly an attempt to limit the rights enshrined in the UDHR and the International Covenants. It can in no sense be seen as complementary to the Universal Declaration."[6]

The Centre for Inquiry in September 2008 in an article to the United Nations writes that the CDHRI: "undermines equality of persons and freedom of expression and religion by imposing restrictions on nearly every human right based on Islamic Sharia law."[7]

Article 5 prohibits imposing any restrictions on marriage stemming from "race, colour or nationality", notably excluding religion from the list. That is in part because Shariah law does restrict marriage on the basis of religion, since Shariah forbids a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man. Shariah does permit a Muslim man to marry a non-Muslim woman.

Similarly, CDHRI is criticized as not endorsing equality between men and women; moreover, it is accused of asserting the superiority of men.[8] In the Article 6, women are guaranteed equal dignity, in contrast to the Universal declaration which offers equal rights. Rights are specific and can be enumerated, whereas "dignity" is an amorphous concept which means one thing to one group, and another thing to another group. Groups who might disagree on specifics can agree on "dignity," precisely because the term is vague, though the specifics of that "dignity," as applied in a particular nation, might scandalize, embarrass, or outrage a gaze that refuses to be averted. The term "dignity," because of its vagueness, relieves a ruler from having to enumerate specific rights accorded or not accorded depending on gender. Finally, CDHRI makes no mention of the practice of having multiple wives in some Islamic countries, but whether this automatically creates a human rights concern in the absence of abuses is debatable. Then again, since abuses are not uncommon, the statement that there might be no human rights concern in the absence of abuses is of questionable relevance.

Adama Dieng, a member of the International Commission of Jurists, criticized the CDHRI. He argued that the declaration gravely threatens the inter-cultural consensus, on which the international human rights instruments are based; that it introduces intolerable discrimination against non-Muslims and women. He further argued that the CDHRI reveals a deliberately restrictive character in regard to certain fundamental rights and freedoms, to the point that certain essential provisions are below the legal standards in effect in a number of Muslim countries; it uses the cover of the "Islamic Shari'a (Law)" to justify the legitimacy of practices, such as corporal punishment, which attack the integrity and dignity of the human being.[9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Universal Human Rights and 'Human Rights in Islam'". 'Midstream'. http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-littman011903.asp. 
  2. ^ There shall be no crime or punishment except as provided for in the Schari’a.
  3. ^ Smith (2003), p.195
  4. ^ Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam,Aug. 5, 1990, U.N. GAOR, World Conf. on Hum. Rts., 4th Sess., Agenda Item 5, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.157/PC/62/Add.18 (1993)
  5. ^ Kazemi, Farouh. "Perspectives on Islam and Civil Society" in Islamic Political Ethics: Civil Society, Pluralism and Conflict, Sohail H. Hashmi, ed. Princeton University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-691-11310-6, p.50
  6. ^ "The Cairo Declaration and the Universality of Human Rights". http://www.iheu.org/node/3162. 
  7. ^ "CFI Defends Freedom of Expression at the U.N. Human Rights Council". http://www.centerforinquiry.net/newsroom/cfi_defends_freedom_of_expression_at_the_un_human_rights_council/. 
  8. ^ Rhona, Smith. "Textbook on International Human Rights", Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 1-84174-301-1, p.195
  9. ^ "Universal Human Rights and 'Human Rights in Islam'". 'Midstream'. http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-littman011903.asp. 

[edit] See also

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