Hhr Paper

History 2011: Section 104

11/28/12

The Cairo Declaration and Human Rights

In 1990, the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam was established in order to create human rights laws in the nation of Islam. The Cairo Declaration states all the basic human rights that people of Islam had, but the problem with the document is it restricts those same human rights by stating in article 24, “All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Shari'ah.” If the Shari’ah has a contradictory statement to what is in the Cairo Declaration, the human rights of any individual may be restricted, because the Shari’ah has more control over the rights of individuals in Islam. The Cairo Declaration is differs from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, because it still restricts individual’s freedoms, unlike the Declaration of Human Rights which enables human rights. The existence of the Cairo Declaration suggests there was a weakness in the international human rights movement in the 1980’s and 1990’s, because it shows that Islam still has the power to limit the natural rights of its citizens.

The 1990 Cairo Declaration differs from the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, because the Cairo Declaration has sections that conflicts some of the rights of humans in the Declaration of Human Rights. In section 19d of the Cairo Declaration it states, “There shall be no crime or punishment except as provided for in the Shari'ah,” this can include stoning for adultery, a cruel and inhumane punishment. In the Declaration of Human rights, Article 5 states, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Clearly, section 19d of the Cairo Declaration differs from Article 5 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, because the Cairo Declaration allows for cruel punishments of individuals who commit criminal acts such as adultery or theft, while the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...