Limitations of Existing Standards

The judiciary process of human rights has rested for a long time upon groups of states commenting upon the extent to which another group of states has fulfilled the obligations they promised to each other. But the human rights discussion has changed from discussing what human rights are to who human rights are for. The distinction between non-discrimination and equality is central to this discussion. Sustainable development is absent form many human rights conventions because the conventions are mostly political and civil, and because they are mostly individualistic treaties. Conventions must emphasize economic, social, and cultural dimensions of the rights agenda.