Community Perceptions of International Human Rights Law in Multicultural Contexts
Keywords:
international human rights law, multiculturalism, legal consciousness, community perceptions, Tehran, qualitative research, vernacularization, legal vulnerabilityAbstract
This study aimed to explore how members of culturally diverse communities in Tehran perceive, interpret, and negotiate international human rights law in relation to local moral norms, social belonging, institutional trust, and everyday legal experience. This qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 26 participants from multicultural communities in Tehran. Participants were selected through purposive sampling to include variation in gender, age, educational background, migration history, ethnic identity, and community role. Data collection continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Interviews focused on participants’ awareness of international human rights law, perceived compatibility between human rights principles and local values, experiences of legal vulnerability, and the role of community mediators in translating rights discourse into everyday practice. All interviews were audio-recorded with informed consent, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis. NVivo software was used to organize transcripts, manage codes, compare categories, and support theme development. The analysis generated four main categories: human rights as moral dignity rather than formal law; cultural negotiation between universal norms and local obligations; institutional mistrust and unequal access to rights; and community intermediaries as translators of legal meaning. Participants generally supported the ethical language of dignity, fairness, and protection, but many viewed international human rights law as distant, politically charged, or difficult to access. Human rights were most positively received when framed through familiar concepts such as justice, respect, family security, and protection from humiliation. However, tensions emerged around gender roles, minority recognition, migrant vulnerability, and distrust toward formal institutions. The findings suggest that international human rights law gains social meaning not merely through formal legal adoption but through community-level translation, trust-building, and culturally intelligible communication. In multicultural contexts, rights consciousness is shaped by the interaction between universal legal norms, local moral worlds, institutional credibility, and lived experiences of inclusion or exclusion.
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