ABSTRACT
In July 1995, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations University held a two-day seminar in Tokyo to evaluate the progress of Asian countries in ensuring human rights. In the keynote address, I emphasised that human rights should be discussed according to a broader concept of rights that includes not only individual rights but also the rights of weaker nations in the global system. Furthermore, a discussion of rights cannot be held without a consideration of responsibilities; recognising the balance between them would steer us towards a more comprehensive notion of human dignity. This article was published in New Dawn (No. 33, November-December 1995), Impact (Vol. 30, No. 11, November 1995), and JUST Commentary (No. 17, August 1995).
