ABSTRACT
Culture includes language, dialect, ethnic identity, customs, traditions, faith, shared beliefs and values, ideas, superstitions, folk songs, knowledge, lifestyles, media, and myths. All people have the right to their culture, but cultural rights cannot be secured and granted in the same way that civil, political, and socioeconomic rights are. This chapter explores how morality and ethics intersect with human rights. International human rights law encompasses civil, political, and socioeconomic rights. The World Health Organization has launched an international campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM) as a human rights violation, and more significantly, so have some African governments. The earliest regional human rights charters are the Pact of San Jose of Costa Rica and African Charter on Human and People's Rights. Both follow the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in affirming cultural rights, along with other rights, with the Banjul Charter emphasizing that they are rights of development.
