GSI: A boon in the human rights governance

Tee-Keat Ong
 

While the world remains committed to upholding the principle of human rights protection, this universal sacrosanct value of humanity has endlessly been put to severe tests in the prevailing global governance. The Western-centric narratives of human rights have time and again been proven irrelevant to the dire needs of the Global South in sustainable development. No single nation state or authority should ever set the benchmark for human rights worldwide merely based on its own whims and fancies or perspective, as the cultural norms and priorities across the globe have never been homogeneous. Indeed, the global human rights governance is now disappointingly in disarray. The escalating belligerent rhetorics compounded with the beefing up of war machines by the Cold War-minded major powers would only navigate the world to the ultimate self-destruct. The timely roll out of China's GSI fills the void of a viable global security architecture which addresses both the conventional and non-conventional security concerns. GSI's call for a "common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable " security rooted in the principle of " indivisible security " where no country can strengthen its own security at the expense of others.