Dear Colleagues,

In the twentieth century, the language of human rights has experienced a constant diffusion and expansion whose validity has been sanctioned through official documents: the Universal Declaration of 1948 has been ratified by almost all the world states, rights protection conventions binding member states were passed, fundamental rights were incorporated into contemporary democratic constitutions. However, since the evolution of the language of human rights took place in the West, the conception of the human person underlying the formulation of rights reflect the philosophical-political assumptions of Western individualism, as it was stated by the American anthropologist Melville Herskovits. In 1947, responding to a global survey on human rights conducted by the nascent organization UNESCO in support of the UN Commission on Human Rights, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, Herskovits argued that a universal declaration of human rights that does not want to be ethnocentric and self-celebrating can only be formulated starting from the recognition that every man lives in a society. From the moment of birth, in fact, every belief, behaviour, aspiration, value of the individual are shaped by the uses of his social group. The very existence of the individual is in fact realized only within precise cultural and social coordinates, which shape the entity itself, and it is impossible to protect the freedom and integrity of the individual, regardless of his belonging to a society. The recognition of the rights of the individual would therefore be possible only within the acceptance of the culture of the individual himself.

For this reason, the compatibility of the civil, political and social values that form the premise of the doctrine of human rights with non-European cultural contexts cannot be uncritically presupposed. The model of equality that has been at the basis of the constitutional discourse conducted in the West in the last two centuries has had an inclusive and integrating function but at the same time has imperiously demanded an adaptation to the dominant cultural models. The rule of equality implies respect for the plurality of values that make life in a society rich, but also for the different cultures that are part of the multicultural societies following the migratory processes. Once the principle of equality has been affirmed, human rights proclaimed, the theme of difference – primarily in terms of lifestyles and cultural attitudes – is not exhausted. 

Cultural differences are also reflected in the vision and ideas of development. in this sense the indigenous peoples represent an important example, as indigenous knowledge and traditions are deeply rooted in sustainable development and can help solve many of our common challenges. As Michelle Bachelet stated in December 2021, Equality is at the heart of human rights, and at the heart of the solutions required to carry us through this period of global crisis. That doesn’t mean we must all look the same, think the same or act the same. It means that we embrace our diversity and demand that we are all treated without any kind of discrimination. Equality is about empathy and solidarity and about understanding that, as a common humanity, our only way forward is to work together for the common good.

Starting from these reflections, the special issue aims to collect the experiences of indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and immigrant minorities in the articulation between human rights, equality and sustainable development.

Prof. Dr. Giovanna Campani

Prof. Dr. Teresa Terrón-Caro

Guest Editors.

Human Rights; Rights Protection Conventions; Ethnocentrism; Equality; Inclusive and Integrating Function; Multicultural Societies; Migratory Processes; Lifestyles and Cultural Attitudes; Development; Sustainable Development; Indigenous Peoples; Ethnic Minorities and Immigrant Minorities