Individual Rights Clash with Collective Rights: Global Harmony at Stake
The United Nations couldn't agree on combining civil and political rights with economic, social, and cultural rights in 1966. As a result, two separate human rights agreements were created, focusing mainly on individual rights. Civil and political rights are now recognized as legal rights, while economic, social, and cultural rights are seen more as goals. Efforts have been made to highlight economic, social, and cultural rights and to redefine some individual rights as collective rights or rights of groups. International law currently provides limited protection to groups, including the right to self-determination, control over natural resources, and rights of indigenous peoples and minorities.