PLURALIST APPROACHES TO HUMAN-RIGHTS

Some anthropologists criticize United Nations ''universal'' human righ ts as ethnocentrically Western. But all sociocultural groups define so me concept analogous to human rights, and multiple Political and philo sophical cultures have contributed to the evolving UN framework. This essay traces the four major sources of modern human rights (Western po litical liberalism, socialism and social welfare principles, cross-cul tural rights traditions, and the UN instruments) and focuses on points of agreement in the evolving framework. The evidence is wed to argue for a pluralist approach to human rights (rather than narrower univers al, Western, or broader cultural relativist approaches) and suggests p oints for additional anthropological contributions.