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8 Int'l J. Child. Rts. 83 (2000)
Human Rights as a Foundation for Family Law Reform

handle is hein.journals/intjchrb8 and id is 93 raw text is: LA The International Journal of Children's Rights 8: 83-99, 2000. 83 W © 2000 Kluwer Law International. Printed in the Netherlands. Human rights as a foundation for family law reform SAVITRI GOONESEKERE Vice Chancellor University of Colombo, Sri Lanka The concept of 'human rights' and 'the family' have both been the centre of controversy in many countries in the last decades of the twentieth century. Some governments in the Asian region in particular have argued that 'human rights' represent a Judaeo-Christian and Eurocentric concept of individual rights that seeks to marginalise and disempower people in other societies. Human rights is critiqued as an ideology used to secure political and economic domination of non-Western societies, and perpetuate poverty and inequality in developing countries. There is an analogous polarisation of views on the family. For decades, feminists viewed 'the family' as an oppressive institution that perpetuated patriarchal and capitalist values. Those who advocate an ethic of care and responsibility reject the rights discourse in regard to family relations, emphasising the importance of the family in promoting communitarian values and social responsibility. Differences of opinion in regard to the very definition of family have added to the diffi- culty of developing family law and policies and using human rights to inform that process. We know that in some countries family relations are based on a nuclear family while other traditions in Asia and Africa recognise poly- gamous, extended and joint families. It is argued that human rights concepts cannot accommodate family relations in these units. Criticisms regarding both human rights-ideologies and the concept of family have been recently voiced by those who argue that there should be a redefinition of family to accommodate the sexual orientation of individuals, and family relationships outside legal marriage. Though family units and their structures can vary, the rationale for these arrangements remain the same. Family units seek to help individuals to connect to others and so overcome the disadvantage of isolation. Maintaining a balance between individual and group interests so as to provide this support lies at the very heart of the stability and wellbeing of any type of family. Family law has been extensively reformed in many developed countries, but it is also an area of law where there is resistance to change. Human rights can, in this context, provide important insights in family law reform. The ideology of human rights has core concepts that can contribute to enlightened