This text will analyze the commonly accepted philosophical foundation of human rights, the international system of protection of human rights and selected perspectives of activists. It argues that dominant European, North American and Australian discourses of human rights do not describe human rights as such but only constitute specific expressions of human rights, and attempts to outline the characteristics of these discourses. It concludes that the limitations of a concept of human rights based on the exclusive reference to the state, as well as on Eurocentrism and processes of othering, can only be overcome through intercultural polylogues based on respect and equality. Rather than focusing on the concept of rights and their development, this text focuses on the concepts of humans and human dignity. © The Author(s), 2009.