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Article: The future of human rights. (World Conference on Human Rights) (Column)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- June 30, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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REPORTS FROM the World Conference on Human Rights held in late June in Vienna revealed an ethical debate freighted with consequences: development aid will be given or withheld, people will be tortured or released, military interventions will be authorized or prevented according to the results.
The central issue is this: Are there knowable, universal principles of justice that ought to serve as a plumb line by which to measure various practices of peoples, governments, cultures, societies, religions and traditions? Those who adhere to the biblical heritage have had to confront this question, for the ancient prophets claimed that the principles of God's covenant ...