ABSTRACT
Music and human rights possess ancestral roots in universal characteristics of the human race. These include mutual connections to the primary emotions of fear, anger, sadness, and happiness; to sensations of pain and pleasure; and to feelings of threat and security. The presence of contradictions in human rights instruments is viewed by some to be fatal flaws. Contradictions, however, are part of the human condition. Similarly, the notion of the ‘universality, equality, indivisibility, and interdependence’ of human rights might seem to be divorced from practical utility. Music and human rights can be considered expressions of human dignity. Devoted to personal and collective flourishing, both fields require practitioners to recognize themselves in others, to embrace pluralism, and to support the individual and community. Both the human rights and music perspectives embody the principle ‘to commit oneself to live in a community where rights conflicts are adjudicated through persuasion, rather than violence’.
