Theories of Human Rights: Which One Does Indonesia Follow?

1. Universal Absolute

This perspective views human rights as universal for every individual and disregards the background values upheld by a society or a country. Therefore, human rights are considered the same for everyone in the world and are not related to the inherent socio-cultural values.

2. Universal Relative

In this perspective, human rights are seen as a universal issue, and international human rights documents are considered important references. However, there are still exceptions based on recognized principles of international law. [4]

Human Rights Theory: Cultural Relativism Theory

In principle, this theory views that human rights must be placed within a specific cultural context and rejects the notion of universal rights.

According to proponents of this theory, human rights should not be universal because they must be understood from the cultural perspective of a society or country. [5]

Similarly to the universalism theory, this theory is also divided into two perspectives, namely:

1. Absolute Particularistic

This school of thought views human rights as the concern of each nation and rejects the applicability of international human rights documents and instruments.

In other words, this school of thought sees human rights as the concern of each country and does not adhere to international human rights regulations.

2. Relative Particularistic

This school of thought views human rights as universal and an international issue, but on the other hand, they must also be aligned with the values upheld by the society in each country.

Thus, even though human rights are universal, according to this school of thought, this universality must also be adjusted to the conditions of each society and country concerned.

The Human Rights Theory Adopted by Indonesia

After understanding the various human rights theories, the next question is: which theory does Indonesia adopt?

Read Also: Law and Human Rights

Indonesia itself does not tend to adhere to a single human rights theory. In fact, Indonesia applies all existing human rights theories, not just one. This can be seen from the following explanation:

Natural Law Theory

This theory states that human rights are the rights possessed by all people, at all times and in all places, because humans are born as humans.

In this theory, a person's position in life is determined by God. The implementation of this theory can be found in Article 1, paragraph 1 of Law No. 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights, which defines human rights as:

Human Rights are a set of rights inherent in the nature and existence of human beings as creations of Almighty God and are His blessings that must be respected, upheld, and protected by the state, law, government, and every person for the honor and protection of human dignity and worth.

Positivism Theory

This theory is the antithesis of natural law theory. Essentially, this theory states that rights must originate from or be granted by a clear source, namely the constitution, law, or contract.

The embodiment of this theory can also be found in Indonesian positive law, where human rights are granted through existing laws, such as Law Number 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights and other laws, and also granted by the constitution, one of which is through Article 28I of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.