Non-Conforming Political Opinion and Human Rights: Transnational Protection Against Discrimination

In a world arena characterized by persisting expectations of violence and a concomitant trend toward politicization, there has been a deepening community concern for outlawing intolerance toward non-conformists. Expectations of violence and perception of crisis within a particular territorial community often lead to the mobilization of ,group defenses, with ruthless suppression of dissident views and discrimination against the holders of such views. The concern of the larger community both builds upon and expresses a more general norm of nondiscrimination which seeks to forbid all generic differentiations among human beings in the shaping and sharing of values for reasons irrelevant to individual capabilities and contribution. The particular norm against discrimination on the ground of nonconforming opinion finds expression in many authoritative communications, at both transnational and national levels, and, under appropriate conditions, could be made an important bulwark for the protection of political freedom.