I refer to the letter “Big difference between freedom of expression and incitement to hatred” (May 7).
In it, the writer stated: “The universality of human rights is not a Western invention: It was first enshrined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948 — not a European Union treaty.” Are we expected to believe, however, that in 1948 and the years preceding it, the West had no significant political and economic influence in the United Nations?
That was before the rise of modern China, the emerging markets and these countries’ expectation to be heard on the world stage, no matter how they rile Western powers.
There is no injury to the idea of fundamental rights when Mr Bilahari Kausikan emphasises a “practical” approach to human rights (“Practical, not ideological, approach needed on human rights”; May 1). This approach exhorts one to be measured and respectful of differences. On that basis, I have little sympathy for Charlie Hebdo.
For just because one needs to urinate does not mean that one should, in a civilised society, do so wherever one wishes.