UNL professor stresses human rights protection

The international human rights system is in a time of crisis.

So says Brian Lepard, a professor of law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Lepard gave a talk Thursday night at the Nebraska Union titled "Rescuing Human Rights: The Impact of Globalization on International Human Rights Law."

The lecture was the latest in the 2010-2011 Nebraska Colloquium, organized around the theme "Globalization's Promise" and hosted by UNL's Honors Program.

One of the focuses of Lepard's talk was the double-edged sword of globalization, which has at times contributed to, and at other times hurt, the cause of human rights worldwide.

"We owe human rights law to the forces of globalization," Lepard said during the lecture.

For instance, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, is an amazing accomplishment in human rights history, with the world coming together on an agreement.

Such unification was only possible thanks to the forces of globalization, of the world creating a common culture, Lepard said.

On the other hand, Lepard emphasized globalization has as much capacity to hurt human rights around the globe as help.

"Globalization can be divisive," Lepard said.

It can aggravate racial, ethnic or religious prejudice as different cultures push back against the forces of globalization. He said Americans succeeded in making the hamburger ubiquitous, and not everyone likes that.

One of the problems is a wide push for cultural relativism when it comes human rights, he said, citing Muslim countries like Iran that justify their treatment of citizens with tradition and custom.

"Western cultures aren't immune," Lepard said.

For example, the United States has used the alleged requirements of a war on terror instead of religious tradition for a similar reduction in human rights protections. The United States even resorted to what constitutes as torture, even if it is "euphemistically dubbed ‘enhanced interrogation,'" Lepard said.

Another problem is that the international bodies and systems in place don't have enough teeth, Lepard said.

Treaties, for example, have to be signed to have any effect; countries can simply not sign.

Rights resolutions tend to concede to the lowest common denominator for the sake of agreement.

And the Universal Declaration has no prioritization of its rights, allowing easy loopholes for abuse.

Lepard, who joined UNL's law faculty in 1995, thinks he has the key that will allow the rescue of human rights.

"I focus on one moral principle," Lepard said. "I call it unity in diversity."

Within this principle, all people and all nations are of one family. This principle is echoed throughout every major religion in the world, Lepard said, and is not some Western construct.

"Morally, every human being is first and foremost a member of the same human family," Lepard said.

He said this principle could bring human rights around the world to the same level and will prevent horrific abuses like the genocides in Darfur, Rwanda and Bosnia.

Lepard stressed, however, such unity within the human family doesn't mean uniformity.

The family is enriched by diversity in belief, background and politics.

"We need to protect that diversity," he said.

Legal reforms, even guided by this principle, aren't enough, Lepard said.

Defending human rights in the courtroom, even the International Criminal Court, are solutions of last resort.

"It's the people, not their governments, who must adopt this vision," Lepard said.

Lepard's passion for human rights comes from an early age, he said before the lecture.

Baha'i, the religion he grew up with, always stressed unity and understanding.

"That led me to want to study human rights," he said.

His journey took him to the UN and around the world with various research projects.

The perfect way to combine this passion with his interest in law was teaching, he said.

And so he eventually made his way to UNL, where the human rights program recently was revitalized, thanks to a $500,000 donation from David Forsythe.

His lecture's message resonated with students in attendance.

"It was different than I expected. It was actually kind of refreshing," said Madeline Shomos, a freshman English major.

By taking a more intellectual approach, she said, Lepard presented the important issue while avoiding what she called ‘compassion fatigue.'

Dillon Jones, a freshman political science and economics major, appreciated the stress on the people, not governments.

"It has to start with citizens. I don't know if Americans think there's much incentive (yet)," he said.

Greg Vinton, a freshman general studies major, had a sense of optimism at the conclusion he didn't have before when it came to the international state of human rights.

"There is hope," he said.

danielholtmeyer@dailynebraskan.com