The Challenge of Diversity: Human Rights, Human Dignity, and Liberal Democracies

Abstract

With the advent of globalisation, the interface between multicultural and multi-religious communities has become increasingly complex when set against the background of liberal democratic regimes. The global village has led to increased interaction between and awareness of cultural and religious communities and their practices, some of which have strained community relations, often testing the limits of tolerance. These tensions have ignited acute tensions within the human rights movement, which champions equality of the sexes, freedom of expression and other liberties, whilst simultaneously guarding the freedom of religion and cultural rights. It has also underscored the challenge faced by modern liberal democracies, well illustrated by the growing number of instances in which majoritarian views trump minority rights. There is a grave need to strike a delicate balance between the various conflicting rights which vie for meaningful protection. This paper seeks to explore the difficulties and challenges inherent in effectively protecting minority rights in a liberal democracy, in light of the following: (a) Meaningful and practical protection of the rights of freedom of religion and cultural practice; (b) That human dignity and uninhibited practice of one s religion and culture are inseparable; (c) A community s right to live in a society defined according to practices and standards that are important and acceptable to them as a group; and (d) The liberal democratic system which often results in a face-off between minority groups and the majority, sometimes rendering meaningless the protections afforded by the international human rights regime.