LESSON 4

HUMAN DIGNITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:

1. Describe human dignity and human rights;

2. Establish human dignity as the basis of human rights;
3. Enumerate the characterisrtics of human rights;
4. Articulate the historical, legal and moral basis of human rights;
5. Discuss the role of the state in the realization of human rights;
6. Illustrate situations that show a human rights based approach in doing
community work; and
7. Demonstrate sensitivity to the rights of others.

Time Allotment:

Three (3) hours

Suggested Activities:

Sentence Completion
Creative Group Work

Content

I. Introduction

We have seen from the previous lesson that the human being reveals
himself/herself through one’s relation to the self, others, community, nature
and God. Another dimension so important in the consideration of the human
being are his/her dignity and rights. As we prepare ourselves for community
service, it is appropriate to know and appreciate not only our own individual
rights but also the rights of other people. This lesson will help us know the
basics of human dignity and human rights.
 II. Human Dignity

Human dignity refers to the quality of being human. It constitutes all the
characteristics of a human being and forms a unity or wholeness that makes one
human. “It is one and indivisible. It does not exist to a greater or lesser degree,
but only wholly or not at all”. 1 We can never lose our human dignity but it can be
wounded, maimed, or affronted..

The same concepts on human dignity echo in the teachings of the

Catholic Church. The Second Vatican Council, through the Sacred Scripture,
“teaches that man was created "to the image of God," is capable of knowing and
loving his Creator, and was appointed by Him as master of all earthly creatures
(1) that he might subdue them and use them to God's glory.(2) "What is man that
you should care for him? You have made him little less than the angels, and
crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of
your hands, putting all things under his feet" (Ps. 8:5-7)”. 2 These words of the
council fathers affirm the dignity of the human being emanating from God. The
council fathers continue to say: “man achieves such dignity when, emancipating
himself from all captivity to passion, he pursues his goal in a spontaneous choice
of what is good, and procures for himself through effective and skilful action, apt
helps to that end”.3

The Preamble of the Universal declaration of Human Rights states: “the

inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human
family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”. Combining
this notion with the teachings of the Church, we could say that human dignity
forms part of the nature of a human being and serves as the basis for human
equality and human rights.

III. Human Rights

Human rights are everything human beings are entitled to protect their
dignity as individuals. All the definitions talk about entitlements of individuals as
human beings.

Human Rights Language and its Origin

The concept of human rights did not start with Universal Declaration of
Human Rights in 1948. Most societies have had traditions similar to the “golden
rule” of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The Hindu Vedas,
the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, the Bible, the Koran, and the Anaclets of
Confucius are five oldest written sources that address questions of people’s
1
Jurgen Moltmann. Human Rights, the Rights of Humanity and the Rights of Nature. Concilium (No.2),
1990, p. 122.
2
Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, no. 12.
3
Ibid., no. 17.

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duties, rights, and responsibilities. The Inca and Aztec codes of conduct and
justice and Iroquois Constitution were Native American sources that existed well
before the 18th century.

The concept of human rights has also existed under several names in
European thought for many centuries. In the 18 th and 19th centuries in Europe,
several philosophers proposed the concept of “natural rights.” These rights
belonging to a person by nature and because he was a human being, not by
virtue of his citizenship in a particular country or membership in a particular
religious or ethnic group.

The Magna Carta (1215), the English Bill of Rights (1689), the French
Declaration on the Rights of Man and Citizens (1789), and the US Constitution
(1791) may have been predecessors of 20 th century human rights instruments
but many of these documents made invisible women, children, people of color,
and members of certain social, religious economic, and political groups.

Characteristics of Human Rights

1. Universal – everyone should enjoy human rights without discrimination as

to sex, age, language, religion, or race.

2. Inviolable – human rights are an essential element of one’s humanity. It

cannot be abrogated or violated unless determined by law and “solely for
the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights of
others and of meeting the just requirements of the general welfare,
morality, and public order in a democratic society.”

3. Interdependent – certain rights cannot be sacrificed in favor of other rights

because taken together, these rights make human beings whole.

Classification of Human Rights

Human rights are classified according to the following:

1. According to Nature

a. Civil Rights – are rights of individuals to be protected from arbitrary

interference by government in their life, liberty and property. Examples
are right to life, liberty, and security, freedom to travel, right to due
process.

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 b. Political Rights – are rights of individuals to interfere and participate in
the affairs of government such as right to vote, stand for election, and
participate in state and social management, freedom of speech, of the
press of assembly.

c. Social, Economic and Cultural Rights – are progressive demands of

the people to improve their standard of living such as right to education
,to work, to healthy working environment, right to equal pay for equal
work, right to practice religion, use one’s language, enjoy one’s culture.

2. According to Recipient

a. Individual Rights – are rights that may be exercised by every individual

such as those in the UDHR.

b. Collective / Group Rights –are rights given to a specified vulnerable

group which may be exercised because of one’s membership to such
community such as right to development, women’s rights, children’s
rights, indigenous people’s rights, etc. These are also prioritized rights.

3. According to Source

a. Natural Rights – are rights believed to be based on reason or given by

Supreme Being. They existed long before they were recognized by
law. Examples of which are right to life, right to property, right to
justice, right to freedom, right to peace.

b. Legal Rights –are rights recognized by laws. Examples of which are

right of habeas corpus ,right to be presumed innocent until proven
guilty, right to bail, etc.

4. According to Implementation

a. Immediate -are those rights that States can readily implement because
these are dependent on the States’ political will such as civil and
political rights.

b. Progressive / Incremental – are those rights whose implementation is

dependent on availability of the states’ resources and thus can only be
enjoyed gradually. Such rights are the social, economic and cultural
rights.

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The State and the Implementation of Human Rights

The state has the primary responsibility to:

1. Respect human rights – not to do acts that will violate the rights of
individuals.
2. Protect human rights – commit acts that will defend the rights of
individuals.
3. Promote human rights – enforce activities that will ensure that
individuals know about their rights.
4. Fulfill human rights – ensure that rights are realized either immediately
or incrementally.

Human rights violations are committed by the State and Non-State Actors.
Non-State actors are organized groups that aim to seize governmental powers or
those institutions that influence the use of state power. Individual acts that abuse
human rights are considered common crime.

The distinction between human rights violations and human rights abuses
as common crime is necessary to emphasize that human rights are primarily a
State obligation. The state with all its powers has to be guided by the principles
of human rights in its exercise of its powers.

As a footnote, while the state has the obligation to realize human rights,
individuals have the duty to respect, promote and nurture the rights of others.
Human dignity and human rights are also vital in the process of our
pagpapakatao and in the experience of ginhawa. We could say that we are
makatao and that we facilitate the experience of ginhawa when we promote and
nurture human dignity and human rights.

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 REFERENCES

Church Document

Flannery, Austin, ed. (1998) Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and
Postconciliar Documents. Northport: Costello Publishing Company.

Periodicals

Moltmann, Jurgen. (1990). Human Rights, the Rights of Humanity and the
Rights of Nature. Concilium, Vol. No.2, p. 122.

Unpublished

Notions on human rights were drawn from the lecture delivered during the
Seminar on the Implementation of NSTP: Literacy and CWS
Components held at the Philippine Normal University, Manila, held
last September 24-25, 2004.