To view the diacritics on this page, you must install the Indic Times font on your machine and have a browser capable of displaying the Unicode (utf-8) character set.
Compiled for the Journal of Buddhist Ethics , 15th March 1995Ṭhe latest version of this bibliography will always be available online from the Journal's Resources directory in the file Rightsbib.txt. Please send suggestions for inclusion to d.keown@gold.ac.uk. This bibliography may be used freely for teaching and research purposes but please acknowledge the source. Copyright Damien Keown 1995.
BUDDHISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS
The subject of Buddhism and human rights can be approached in a variety of ways and through a number of academic disciplines. Issues of a philosophical, historical, legal, political, cultural, sociological, ethnographic, economic and even ecological nature can all be raised under this rubric. There is an expanding literature on women and human rights, and many case-studies of the treatment of minorities and indigenous populations in Buddhist countries. It will be noted that the majority of the available literature deals with contemporary aspects of the subject, and there is a noticeable absence of historical and philosophical studies on the connection between human rights and Buddhist doctrine and practice.
Many of the items listed below are taken from the excellent bibliography of Claude E.Welch Jr. and Virginia AḶeary Asian Perspectives on Human Rights (Westview Press, 1990), Part Four. This bibliography contains English language material published between 1976 and 1990, and readers are referred to this source for further particulars. Curiously, it contains next to nothing on Tibet, and I would welcome information about publications on this topic (or indeed on any of the sections below) for inclusion in updates to the present bibliography. A useful online resource containing bibliographies on the Rights of Women and Indigenous Peoples is Project Diana at the University of Cincinnatti College of Law. Online bibliographies on Feminism and World Politics (No.39) and Women and Buddhism (No.97) may be found at the Australian National Univerity Clearinghouse for Social Sciences & Asian/Pacific Studies Subject Oriented Bibliographies.
Due to the nature of the subject-matter a bibliography on human rights could be arranged in almost infinite ways, and in what follows the same item will often be found under more than one heading. The headings below have been chosen because they seem relevant to the needs of students approaching the subject of human rights from a Buddhist perspective. They are:
Human Rights and the West
Human Rights and Other Cultures
Human Rights and Religion
Human Rights and Buddhist Teachings
Women and Human Rights
Burma
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Vietnam
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE WEST
Alston,Philip (1992), The United Nations and Human Rights. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Brownlie, Ian, ed. (1992), Basic Documents on Human Rights . Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Blaustein, Albert P., Roger S. Clark, and J.A. Sigler, eds. (1987), Human Rights Sourcebook. New York: Paragon House.
Carlyle, R.W. and A.J. Carlyle (1950), A History of Medieval Political Theory in the West. Edinburgh: Blackwood and Sons.
Cingranelli, David Louis, ed. (1988), Human Rights: theory and measurement. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Dagger, Richard (1989), 'Rights,' in Political Innovation and Conceptual Change, ed. et al Terence Ball, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 292-308.
Donnelly, Jack (1985), The Concept of Human Rights. London and Sydney: Croom Helm.
Eisler, Rianne (1987) 'Human Rights: toward an integrated theory for action,' Human Rights Quarterly 9, pp. 287-308.
Finnis, J.M. (1980), Natural Law and Natural Rights. Clarendon Law Series, H.L.A. Hart, ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Hohfeld, Wesley (1964), Fundamental Legal Conceptions. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Lutz, Ellen L., Hurst Hannum, and Kathryn J. Burke, eds. (1989), New directions in human rights. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Nickel, James W. (1987), Making Sense of Human Rights. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Panikkar, R. (1982) 'Is the Notion of Human Rights a Western Concept?,' Diogenes 120, pp. 75-102.
Pollis, Adamantia and Peter Schwab (1979), Human Rights: Cultural and Ideological Perspectives. New York: Praeger.
UNESCO and International Institute of Philosophy (1986), Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights. Paris: UNESCO.
Winston, Morton E. (1989), The Philosophy of Human Rights. Belmont,Ca: Wadsworth.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND OTHER CULTURES
Alston, Philip, ed. (1982), The international dimension of human rights. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
Beg, Mirza Hameedullah (1980) 'Human Rights and Asia,' Santa Clara Law Review 28, pp. 319-350.
Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (ACHRO), ed. (1984), Human rights activism in Asia: some perspectives, problems and approaches. New York: Council on International and Public Affairs.
Carman, John B. (1988), 'Duties and Rights in Hindu Society,' in Human Rights and the World's Religions, ed. Leroy S. Rouner, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, pp. 113-128.
Diokno, Jose W. (1980) 'Asian lawyers, people's rights and human rights,' New Zealand Law Journal 19, pp. 43-47.
Donnelly, Jack and Rhoda E. Howard, eds. (1987), International Handbook on Human Rights. Westport,CT: Greenwood Press.
Howard, Rhoda (1986), 'Is there an African concept of human rights?,' in Foreign Policy and Human Rights, ed. R.J. Vincent, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 11-32.
Hsiung, James C. (1985), Human Rights in East Asia: A Cultural Perspective. New York: Paragon House.
Humana, Charles (1992), World Human Rights Guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
James, Stephen A. (1994) 'Reconciling International Human Rights and Cultural Relativism: the case of female circumcision,' Bioethics 8, pp. 1-26.
Khushalani, Yougindra (1983) 'Human Rights in Asia and Africa,' Human Rights Law Journal 4, pp. 403-442.
Küng, Hans and Karl-Josef Kuschel, eds. (1993), A Global Ethic. The Declaration of the Parliament of the World's Religions . London: SCM Press.
Kumar, Satish (1981) 'Human rights and economic development: the Indian tradition,' Human Rights Quarterly 3, pp. 47-55.
Ladd, John, ed. (1983), Ethical Relativism. Lanham: University Press of America.
Leary,Virginia A. (1987) 'Human rights in the Asian context: prospects for regional human rights instruments,' Connecticut Journal of International Law 2, pp. 319-339.
Little, David, John Kelsay, and Abdulaziz Sachedina, eds. (1988), Human Rights and the Conflict of Cultures. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press.
Milne, A.J.M. (1986), Human Rights and Human Diversity. London: Macmillan.
Panikkar, R. (1982) 'Is the Notion of Human Rights a Western Concept?,' Diogenes 120, pp. 75-102.
Pollis, Adamantia and Peter Schwab (1979), Human Rights: Cultural and Ideological Perspectives. New York: Praeger.
Scoble, Harry M. and Laurie S. Wiseberg, eds. (1985), Access to justice: the struggle for human rights in South East Asia. London: Zed Books.
Snyder, Frederick E. and Surakiart Sathirathai, eds. (1987), Third world attitudes toward international law. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff.
Teson, Fernando R. (1985) 'International Human Rights and Cultural Relativism,' Virginia Journal of International Law 25, pp. 869-898.
Thompson, Kenneth W., ed. (1980), The moral imperatives of human rights: a world survey. Washington DC: University Press of America.
Tiruchelvam, Neelan and Radhika Coomaraswamy, eds. (1987), The role of the judiciary in plural societies. New York: StṂartin's Press.
Tyagi, Yogesh K. (1981) 'Third World Response to Human Rights,' Indian Journal of International Law 21, pp. 119-140.
UNESCO and International Institute of Philosophy, eds. (1986), Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights. Paris: UNESCO.
United Nations (1982), Seminar on national, local and regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Asian region. New York: United Nations.
Vincent, R.J. (1986), Human Rights and International Relations . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Weeramantry, C.G. (1976), Equality and Freedom: some third world perspectives. Colombo: Hansa Publishers.
Weinstein, Warren (1981) 'South Asian Colloquium on Human Rights and Development,' Human Rights Quarterly 3, pp. 1-10.
Welch, C.E. and V. Leary (1990), Asian Perspectives on Human Rights. Boulder, Co: Westview Press.
Yamane, Hiroko (1982) 'Human rights for the peoples of Asia,' Human Rights Teaching 3, pp. 18-22.
Zifkap, Spencer (1988) 'Developments in human rights in Asia and the South Pacific,' Law Institute Journal 62, pp. 138-140.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGION
An-Nai'in, Abdullahi A, Jerald D.Gort, Henry Jansen, Hendrik M.Vroom (eds) (1994) Human Rights and Religious Values. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B.Erdmans Publishing Co.
Bradney, A. (1993), Religions, Rights and Laws. Leicester: Leicester University Press.
Gremillion, Joseph and William Ryan, eds. (1987), World faiths and the new world order: a Muslim, Jewish,Christian search begins . Washington DC: Interreligious Peace Colloquium.
Küng, Hans and Karl-Josef Kuschel, eds. (1993), A Global Ethic. The Declaration of the Parliament of the World's Religions . London: SCM Press.
de Laubier, Patrick (1985) 'Sociology of human rights: religious forces and human rights policy,' Labour and Society 10, pp. 97-104.
Rouner, Leroy S. (1988), Human Rights and the World's Religions . Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press.
Stackhouse, Max L. (1984), Creeds, Society, and Human Rights . Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B.Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Swidler, Arlene, ed. (1982), Human Rights in Religious Traditions . New York: Pilgrims Press.
Swidler, Leonard, ed. (1986), Religious liberty and human rights in nations and in religions. Philadelphia: Ecumenical Press.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND BUDDHIST TEACHINGS
Inada, Kenneth K. (1982), 'The Buddhist Perspective on Human Rights,' in Human Rights in Religious Traditions, ed. Arlene Swidler, New York: Pilgrims Press, pp. 66-76.
--- (1990), 'A Buddhist Response to the Nature of Human Rights,' in Asian Perspectives on Human Rights, eds. Claude E.Jr Welch and Virginia A. Leary, Boulder,Co: Westview Press, pp. 91-103.
Keown,Damien (1995) 'Are there "Human Rights" in Buddhism?' Journal of Buddhist Ethics, volume 2, 1995, pp.3-27
Perera, L.P.N., ed. (1988), Human Rights and Religions in Sri Lanka. A Commentary on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Colombo: Sri Lanka Foundation.
--- (1991), Buddhism and Human Rights. A Buddhist Commentary on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Colombo: Karunaratne and Sons.
de Silva, K.M. et al., eds. (1988), Ethnic Conflict in Buddhist Societies: Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma. Boulder,Co: Westview Press.
Unno, Taitetsu (1988), 'Personal Rights and Contemporary Buddhism,' in Human Rights in the World's Religions, ed. Leroy S. Rouner, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, pp. 129-147.
WOMEN AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Several of the references below are taken from Human Rights Law: A Research Guide to the Literature, Rights of Women an online resource from the Center for Electronic Text in the Law, University of Cincinnatti College of Law. See also the ANU online bibliographies on Feminism and World Politics and Women and Buddhism referred to in the Introduction.
Agarwal, Bina, ed. (1988), Structures of patriarchy: the state, the community and the household. London: Zed Press.
Brennan, Katherine (1989) 'The Influence of Cultural Relativism on International Human Rights Law: Female Circumcision on a Case Study,' Law and Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice 7, pp. 367-398.
Bunch, Charlotte (1990) 'Women's Rights as Human Rights: Toward a Revision of Human Rights,' Human Rights Quarterly 12, pp. 486-498.
Calman, Leslie (1984), Women and human rights: a syllabus. International human rights syllabi: No.2. New York: Center for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University.
Chinkin, Christine and Shelley Wright (1993) 'The Hunger Trap: Women, Food and Self-determination,' Michigan Journal of International Law 14, pp. 262-321.
Cook, Rebecca J. (1989) 'Bibliography: The International Right to Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex,' Yale Journal of International Law 14, pp. 161-181.
Fraser, Arvonne, ed. (1987), The U.N. Decade for Women: Documents and Dialogue. Boulder,Co: Westview Press.
Grant, Rebecca and Kathleen Newland, eds. (1991), Gender and International Relations. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hazou, Winnie (1990), The Social and Legal Status of Women: A Global Perspective. New York: Praeger.
Guggenheim, Malvina H. (1977) 'Implementation of Human Rights by the UṆ.Commission on the Status of Women,' Texas International Law Journal 12, pp. 239-249.
Hernandez, Berta E. (1991) 'To Bear or Not to Bear: Reproductive Freedom as an International Human Right,' Brooklyn Journal of International Law 17, pp. 309-358.
James, Stephen A. (1994) 'Reconciling International Human Rights and Cultural Relativism: the case of female circumcision,' Bioethics 8, pp. 1-26.
Jayawardena, Kumari (1986), Feminism and nationalism in the third world. London: Zed Press.
Ong, Aihwa (1985), Beyond stereotypes: Asian women in development . New York: Women's International Resource Exchange.
Reanda, Laura (1991) 'Prostitution as a Human Rights Question: Problems and Prospects of United Nations Action,' Human Rights Quarterly 13, pp. 202-228.
Rhoodie, Eschel M. (1989), Discrimination against Women: a Global Survey of the Economic, Educational, Social and Political Status of Women. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Skjonsberg, Else (1982), A special caste? Tamil women of Sri Lanka. London: Zed Press.
Slack, Alison T. (1988) 'Female Circumcision: a Critical Appraisal,' Human Rights Quarterly 10, pp. 437-486.
Stark, Barbara (1991) 'Nurturing Rights: An Essay on Women, Peace, and International Human Rights,' Michigan Journal of International Law 13, pp. 144-160.
Symposium (1981) 'Women and International Human Rights,' Human Rights Quarterly 3, pp. 1-135.
Symposium (1987) 'Women's Rights in International Law,' Whittier Law Review 9, pp. 393-443.
UṆ. Non-Governmental Liaison Service (1984), Female Sexual Slavery and Economic Exploitation: Making Local and Global Connections . New York: The Service.
Wetzel, Janice Wood (1993), The World of Women: In Pursuit of Human Rights. New York: New York University Press.
BURMA
Aung San Sū Kyi (1991) Aung San of Burma. A biographical portrait by his daughter. London: Kiscadale Publications.
International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs (1987) 'Burma: human rights in Burma,' IWGIA Newsletter 50, pp. 35-45.
Lintner, B. (1990) Land of Jade. A journey through insurgent Burma. London: Kiscadale Publications.
de Silva, K.M. et al., eds. (1988), Ethnic Conflict in Buddhist Societies: Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma. Boulder,Co: Westview Press.
NEPAL
Amnesty International (1987), Nepal: a pattern of human rights violations. London: Amnesty International.
Rai, Lal-dhoj Deosa (1981) 'Human rights development in ancient Nepal,' Human Rights Quarterly 3, pp. 37-46.
SRI LANKA
Canagaretna, Sujit M. (1987) 'Nation building in a multi-ethnic setting: the Sri Lankan case,' Asian Affairs 14, pp. 1-19.
de Silva, K.M. et al., eds. (1988), Ethnic Conflict in Buddhist Societies: Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma. Boulder,Co: Westview Press.
Gunewardena, Victor (1981) 'Man, media and development: the press in Sri Lanka,' Human Rights Quarterly 3, pp. 89-100.
Hyndman, Patricia (1985) 'Human rights and the rule of law and the situation in Sri Lanka,' University of New South Wales Law Journal 8, pp. 337-361.
--- (1987) 'The 1951 convention definition of refugee: an appraisal with particular reference to the case of Sri Lankan Tamil applicants,' Human Rights Quarterly 9, pp. 49-73.
--- (1987) 'The law and the Veddas of Sri Lanka: vanishing aborigines?,' Law and Anthropology 2, pp. 215-237.
Jayawardena, Kumari and Jayadeva Uyangoda (1986) 'Special issue on the national question in Sri Lanka,' South Asia Bulletin 6, pp. 1-47.
Leary, Virginia A. (1983), Ethnic conflict and violence in Sri Lanka: report of a mission to Sri Lanka in July-August 1981 on behalf of the International Commission of Jurists. Geneva: International Commission of Jurists.
Perera, L.P.N., ed. (1988), Human Rights and Religions in Sri Lanka. A Commentary on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Colombo: Sri Lanka Foundation.
Rubin, Barnett R. (1987), Cycles of violence: human rights in Sri Lanka since the Indo-Sri Lanka agreement. Washington DC: Asia Watch.
Rupesinghe, K., B. Verstappen, and AṢ. Philip (1993), Ethnic Conflicts and Human Rights in Sri Lanka. An annotated bibliography , Vol. 2 1989-1992. London: Hans Zell Publishers.
Skjonsberg, Else (1982), A special caste? Tamil women of Sri Lanka. London: Zed Press.
Tambiah, S.J. (1986), Sri Lanka: ethnic fratricide and the dismantling of democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
--- (1992), Buddhism Betrayed? Religion, politics and violence in Sri Lanka. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Tiruchelvam, Neelan (1986), 'Competing ideologies of conflict resolution in Sri Lanka, a multi-religious society,' in Asian indigenous law in interaction with received law, ed. Masaji Chinba, New York: KPI Ltd, pp. 171-215.
THAILAND
de Silva, K.M. et al., eds. (1988), Ethnic Conflict in Buddhist Societies: Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma. Boulder,Co:
Westview Press.
Garrett, Stephen A. (1980) 'Human rights in Thailand:the case of the Thammasat 18,' Universal Human Rights 2, pp. 43-56.
Kasemup, Preedee (1986), 'Reception of law in Thailand, a Buddhist Society,' in Asian indigenous law in interaction with received law, ed. Masaji Chinba, New York: KPI Ltd, pp. 267-300.
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (1989), Forced back and forgotten: the human rights of Laotian asylum seekers in Thailand . New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.
Muecke, Marjorie (1984) 'Make money not babies: changing status markers of northern Thai women,' Asian Survey 24, pp. 459-470.
Muntarbhorn, Vitit (1987) 'The aborigine in Thai law,' Law and Anthropology 2, pp. 267-276.
Tapp, Nicholas (1986), The Hmong of Thailand: opium people of the golden triangle. London: Anti-Slavery Society for the Protection of Human Rights and Cultural Survival.
VIETNAM
Tai, Ta Van (1988), The Vietnamese tradition of human rights . Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Human Rights Law: A Research Guide to the Literature, Indigenous Peoples , an online resource from the Center for Electronic Text in the Law, University of Cincinnatti College of Law
