Human Rights as an Element of Mutual Recognition and Equality of Opportunity

Abstract

The fact of multiculturalism or pluralism plays a significant role in forming the law as well as in the functioning of various state institutions, hence human rights take a lead in the protection of the rights of minorities or discriminated groups. Considering these problems in my article, I formulate the thesis that arguments for the justification of human rights should be sought in the principle of mutual recognition, which is an expression of a cross-cultural consensus, an individualistic conception of a person, and equal opportunities as universal premises for these rights. Such assumptions expressed in human rights – whether justified or even framed in an innovative way – are the main force shaping a cosmopolitan civil society.