Rationalism & Individualism in an Irrational World - Refugee & SOGI Context
Human rights, at their core, are those rights and freedoms all humans give to each other, by virtue of being human. Even though the UDHR defines them as indivisible, universal and inalienable, it is vital to remember in this context that human rights are essentially rules and norms for human interaction.
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasises the individual's moral worth (Wood, 1972). Furthermore, as Depaigne (2005) explains, the foundation of Individualism is the "struggle for recognition which should lead to the recognition of the individual's rights and the rise of local cultural identities".
Individualism in a Sexual Orientation Gender Identity (SOGI) and Refugee context, centres on the approval and movement away from the inherent reliance on binary categories of "male" and "female" which appear "deeply embedded in human rights discourse" (MacArthur, 2015, p. 27). These entrenched categories present several issues and barriers for human rights advocates to break down in their attempts at creating a greater understanding and recognition that sexual orientation and gender are closely intertwined.
However, as the world understands a more significant concept of what it is to be human, so too does the fightback against Individualism from certain groups, fixated on the hardness of societal gender structures that influence refugees and their asylum applications (MacArthur, 2015). Furthermore, the liberal concept of Individualism and the intangible concept of human rights are deemed to be explicitly western and foreign to non-western societies, "where the community is often set before the individual" (Brems, 1997, p. 145).
There will therefore be those who argue against the inclusion of SOGI rights in a human rights framework. They will point to these concepts whilst outlining that SOGI rights can be viewed as Western imperialism (Depaigne, 2005). Whilst the years of Western oppression of low to middle-income countries (LMIC) do not bode well for the introduction of new ideals by the West. Here discussion around SOGI-related rights as an instrument of struggle is decisive in its own right and communicates to the broader question of how human rights can uphold their impacts amid global political currents in the future (Chase, 2016).
Future advancement of SOGI rights both within a state and in an International Refugee context is crucial because it speaks to the rise in empowering individuals within a collective without disempowering another group. Furthermore, as Depaigne (2005) highlights, it speaks to the human rights framework by calling upon its constituents to allow moral compasses and rational thought to dictate the future of rights for all human beings.
As Schlanbusch (2013) explains, even though the rejection of SOGI rights is frequently portrayed as a defence of nationalism, rationalism is the notion that humans are capable of reason and logic. Rationalism itself is not an ideology of the West. It is, therefore, possible to argue for the universality of rationalism to protect the fundamental rights of individuals worldwide.
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Chase, A. T. (2016). Human rights contestations: sexual orientation and gender identity. The
International Journal of Human Rights, 20(6), 703-723.
Depaigne, V. (2005). Individualism, Human Rights And Identity. Semantic Scholar.
MacArthur, G. (2015). Securing Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Rights within the United Nations Framework and System: Past, Present and Future. Equal Rights Review, 15, 25-54.
Schlanbusch, M. D. (2013). Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Rights in the Universal Periodic Review. In: Master in Human Rights Practice, University of Gothenburg,
Wood, E. M. (1972). Mind and politics: An approach to the meaning of liberal and socialist individualism: Univ of California Press.
