Savages, Victims, and Saviors: The Metaphor of Human Rights

Authors

Makau wa Mutua, University at Buffalo School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2001

Rights

Abstract

This article critically looks at the human rights project as a damning three-dimensional metaphor that exposes multiple complexes. It argues that the grand narrative of human rights contains a subtext which depicts an epochal contest pitting savages, on the one hand, against victims and saviors, on the other. The savages-victims-saviors (SVS) construction lays bare some of the hypocrisies of the human rights project and asks human rights thinkers and advocates to become more self-reflective. The piece questions the universality and cultural neutrality of the human rights project. It calls for the construction of a truly universal human rights corpus, one that is multicultural, inclusive, and deeply political.

Publication Title

Harvard International Law Journal

First Page

201

Last Page

245

Recommended Citation

Makau w. Mutua, Savages, Victims, and Saviors: The Metaphor of Human Rights, 42 Harv. Int'l L.J. 201 (2001).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/journal_articles/570