Human rights in the Arab Mediterranean countries: intellectual discourse, socio-economic background and legal instruments

Abstract:

Human rights are at the heart of the daunting political, social and economic challenges Arab countries are facing as they enter the third millennium. The objective of this article is to examine the reception and implementation of human rights norms in Arab countries. The study gives an intellectual and historical background to Arab thought regarding human rights in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and explores the interaction of socio-economic conditions pertaining in Arab countries, together with contemporary conceptions of human rights. Finally, it describes current and past governmental policies on human rights, set in the context of regional and international human rights initiatives.