The Tension Between the Universal and the Local in the Implementation of Human Rights: Challenges and Affirmations

Abstract

Human rights, since their formalization in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, have been the subject of extensive discussions and debates. The core of these discussions often lies in the tension between the universal nature of human rights and the local and cultural specificities of the various societies in which these rights must be implemented. This work, through critical bibliographic review and document analysis, has the general objective of problematizing the tension between the universal character of human rights and local and cultural specificities, proposing Human Rights Education as an intercultural mediation strategy. The specific objectives include: analyzing the concept of universality of human rights and its theoretical foundations; examining critical perspectives on universalism, including accusations of cultural imperialism; identifying and analyzing empirical cases of universal/local tension in human rights implementation; presenting Human Rights Education as an intercultural mediation strategy; and proposing an operational framework for implementing HRE in multicultural contexts. The main results indicate that Human Rights Education (HRE) emerges as a promising strategy to mediate conflicts between universal principles and cultural particularities, provided it is operationalized through specific intercultural methodologies that combine process and outcome indicators. It is concluded that overcoming universal/local tensions requires structured operational frameworks that respect cultural diversities without relativizing fundamental rights, with HRE being a viable path for building intercultural human rights practices that balance universality and local contextualization.