In order to accomplish this, first, an all inclusive document must be drawn up that deals with those rights that fall under an overlapping consensus of the many different cultures of the world. Specifically, more input from African, Asian, and Middle Eastern cultures must be included in this consensus. Second, the legacy of imperialism and slavery must be acknowledged and addressed. Many African and island cultures have suffered and continue to suffer because of these practices. The novels Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, and A Small Place, by Jamaica Kincaid, deal with many of these issues.
The purpose of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was to establish a standard of human rights that is universal. Unfortunately, shortly after the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948 the United States found itself politically and
Cited: Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Oxford: Heinemann, 1958. Bielefeldt, Heiner. "Muslim Voices in the Human Rights Debate." Human Rights Quarterly Vol. 17.4 1995, Johns Hopkins University Press. Online. 18 Oct. 2001. Center for the Study of Human Rights. Twenty-five Human Rights Documents. New York: Columbia University, 1994. Donnelly, Jack. International Human Rights. Boulder: Westview, 1998. Kincaid, Jamaica. A Small Place. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1988.