This book develops a philosophical conception of human rights that responds satisfactorily to the challenges raised by cultural and political critics of human rights, who contend that the contemporary human rights movement is promoting an imperialist ideology, and that the humanitarian intervention for protecting human rights is a neo-colonialism. These claims affect the normativity and effectiveness of human rights; that is why they have to be taken seriously. At the same time, the same philosophical account dismisses the imperialist crusaders who support the imperialistic use of human rights by the West to advance liberal culture. Thus, after elaborating and exposing these criticisms, the book confronts them to the human rights theories of John Rawls and Jurgen Habermas, in order to see whether they can be addressed. Unfortunately, they are not. Therefore, having shown that these two philosophical accounts of human rights do not respond convincingly to those the postco lonial challenges, the book provides an alternative conception that draws the understanding of human rights from local practices. It is a multilayer conception which is not centered on state, but rather integrates it in a larger web of actors involved in shaping the practice and meaning of human rights. Confronted to the challenges, this new conception offers a promising way for addressing them satisfactorily, and it even sheds new light to the classical questions of universality of human rights, as well as the tension between universalism and relativism.

This book offers a critical examination of certain ideas and values-such as remembering, forgiveness, story-telling through Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, etc.-that under-gird the transitional practices and mechanisms of societies emerging from conflicts. It does so by making the survivors' experience the supreme and ultimate judge of the legitimacy of such practices. While many scholars have dealt with these topics, this book provides a unique perspective on them by using personal stories, narratives and memoirs of the survivors as a checking point of the theoretical elaboration of these ideas and values. By means of an existential phenomenological analysis of the situation of survivors of gross human rights violations, the book assesses how many resources are still available to them, so that they can contribute to the processes of reconstruction and reconciliation of their societies. This analysis constitutes the background for reading the rest of the book, which challenges some assumptions and presumptions of transitional practices such as healing through truth-telling, or providing justice through reparations. It does so by presenting nuanced suggestions on the ways survivors can participate in the reconstruction-reconciliation processes, without jeopardizing their own well-being.

This book develops a philosophical conception of human rights that responds satisfactorily to the challenges raised by cultural and political critics of human rights, who contend that the contemporary human rights movement is promoting an imperialist ideology, and that the humanitarian intervention for protecting human rights is a neo-colonialism. These claims affect the normativity and effectiveness of human rights; that is why they have to be taken seriously. At the same time, the same philosophical account dismisses the imperialist crusaders who support the imperialistic use of human rights by the West to advance liberal culture. Thus, after elaborating and exposing these criticisms, the book confronts them to the human rights theories of John Rawls and Jurgen Habermas, in order to see whether they can be addressed. Unfortunately, they are not. Therefore, having shown that these two philosophical accounts of human rights do not respond convincingly to those the postco lonial challenges, the book provides an alternative conception that draws the understanding of human rights from local practices. It is a multilayer conception which is not centered on state, but rather integrates it in a larger web of actors involved in shaping the practice and meaning of human rights. Confronted to the challenges, this new conception offers a promising way for addressing them satisfactorily, and it even sheds new light to the classical questions of universality of human rights, as well as the tension between universalism and relativism.

This book offers a critical examination of certain ideas and values-such as remembering, forgiveness, story-telling through Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, etc.-that under-gird the transitional practices and mechanisms of societies emerging from conflicts. It does so by making the survivors' experience the supreme and ultimate judge of the legitimacy of such practices. While many scholars have dealt with these topics, this book provides a unique perspective on them by using personal stories, narratives and memoirs of the survivors as a checking point of the theoretical elaboration of these ideas and values. By means of an existential phenomenological analysis of the situation of survivors of gross human rights violations, the book assesses how many resources are still available to them, so that they can contribute to the processes of reconstruction and reconciliation of their societies. This analysis constitutes the background for reading the rest of the book, which challenges some assumptions and presumptions of transitional practices such as healing through truth-telling, or providing justice through reparations. It does so by presenting nuanced suggestions on the ways survivors can participate in the reconstruction-reconciliation processes, without jeopardizing their own well-being.