John Kamya

Domestication of International Human Rights Treaties: Overcoming Challenges of Cultural Relativism in the Different Legal Systems John Kamya

Domestication of International Human Rights Treaties: Overcoming Challenges of Cultural Relativism in the Different Legal Systems; discusses challenges faced in implementing international human rights standards in culturally diverse world communities and how to overcome them. The book is premised on a study conducted in Uganda by the author that led to the award of a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Human Rights, of Makerere University. It examines the claim that values contained in international human rights treaties are predominantly Western and therefore, alien to most world communities, which leads to value-clash and affect the realisation of the standards locally. Domestication of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Uganda provides the case study. The author deeply engages in a debate of the concepts of Universality Vs Relativity of culture and of human rights. Different domestication approaches in Monistic and Dualistic legal systems are presented. The author develops a unique Participatory Domestication Model that calls for participation of all stakeholders in the process so as to improve the level of acceptance of human rights standards by local communities.