What happens when declarations of human rights conflict?
And U.N. member states subscribe to both of them...
Another document worthy of study, and directly related to last week’s post about the Charter of Medina, is the 2021 Cairo Declaration of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Human Rights. This document is subscribed to by the 57 states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Fifty-six of these states are also members of the United Nations which adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
Excerpts from the 2021 Cairo Declaration:
1. The Member States of the OIC recognize ‘Islam as viceregent of Allah on Earth’ proceeding from a belief in human rights and from a ‘commitment to ensuring and protecting these rights as safeguarded by the teachings of Islam’
2. ‘Aiming to contribute to the efforts of mankind to assert human rights… in accordance with the Islamic values and principles’
3. ‘Cognizant of their virtuous and time-honored mores, credited with the oldest human rights pact in Islam; the Charter of Medina, [and] the last sermon of the Prophet Mohamed… should underpin the conception of human rights’
The Declaration then sets out the ‘Articles’ which are agreed to: ‘Without prejudice to the principles of Islam…’ Article 25 again states ‘Everyone has the right to exercise and enjoy the rights and freedoms set out in the present declaration, without prejudice to the principles of Islam…’
Discussion:
In the Cairo Declaration, the first pact referred to is the ‘Charter of Medina’, which declares that “believers and Muslims” are “one community (umma) to the exclusion of all men.” That a “believer shall not slay a believer for the sake of an unbeliever, nor shall he aid an unbeliever against a believer.” That “believers are friends one to the other to the exclusion of outsiders”
The second pact, ‘the last sermon of Mohammed’, regarding wives states ‘God allows you to… beat them but not with severity.” And urges men to ‘Lay injunctions on women kindly, for they are prisoners with you having no control of their persons.” Listeners are reminded that they have been left with, and to hold fast to, “the book of God [Koran} and the practice of His prophet [Mohammed]”
This is the ‘ordained way’ of sharia. (Koran 45:18)
While the 1990 Cairo Declaration explicitly stated:
Article 24: “All rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Shari’ah”
Article 25: “The Islamic Shari’ah is the only source of reference for the explanation or clarification of any of the articles in this Declaration”
…and the 2021 revision does not; it is nevertheless necessary to be aware of the importance, and carefully study, the historical documents ‘underpinning’ the current Cairo Declaration.
By comparison, and NOT preceded by the caveat ‘without prejudice’, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in Article 1 that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”
Fourteen centuries later, the ‘Charter’ and ‘Final Sermon’, are still of such vital importance to Islam that they are enshrined in the OIC’s current declaration of Human Rights.
Conclusion:
It is clear from the foregoing that the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights represent two very different and divergent points of view.
All human beings are born free and equal or they are not, these are two positions that cannot be reconciled. Nevertheless, OIC members who have subscribed to both declarations are able to participate in committees, and vote on U.N. resolutions, that affect all people - not just those of the OIC.
As a consequence, and with regard to many U.N. decisions, citizens of non-OIC countries may wish to ask themselves and their representatives - which Declaration of Human Rights carries the most weight, and how can we be sure?
Sources:
Koran 4:34 https://legacy.quran.com/4/34
Koran 45:18 https://legacy.quran.com/45/18
Koran 48:29 https://legacy.quran.com/48/29
(Hadith) Dawud 1905 https://sunnah.com/abudawud:1905
(Sira) Guillaume, Alfred. 'The Life of Muhammad: a Translation of Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah' (p. 231-32, 650-51,). Oxford University Press, 1967 (Ibn Ishaq 8th c.) https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n3/mode/2up