Civil and political rights are also indivisible human rights

SINGAPORE: When European gunboats went across the world, Christian missionaries who wanted to “civilize” the people — to whom the Bible was an unknown entity — accompanied the colonizers. Today, when US or NATO missiles rain on countries, Western human rights organizations and their activists follow them, with their media in tow. They also have a similar mindset: to civilize the people with notions of “freedom” and democracy. However, the debacle of the "Arab Spring" and the double standards practiced in the war on terror, have exposed the shortcomings of this gospel.

As we mark the 70th anniversary (December 10) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted at the United Nations, it is a good time to review its relevance to today’s society. Should this document be the sole criteria of human rights in the 21st century?