Topic 1: Respect for Human Dignity (Preamble paragraphs 1 and 5, see MODULE 12)
Directions
Read through the whole of this Topic and make sure you understand it. Words in red will show definitions when the mouse pointer pauses on the word. Look up any additional words in a paper or online dictionary.
When you complete each of the sets of Assessment Questions and/or the final quiz of the Preamble, you will see your score and know which paragraphs you should restudy.
Words in red also have glossary definitions for further understanding.
Please note: Paragraphs 1 and 5 of the Preamble have been combined because both refer to human dignity and to fundamental human rights and freedom.
(i) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration was agreed upon and signed within three years of the end of World War 2 (1939 to 1945). The ‘barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind’ in Module 2 refer to the torture, human medical experiments, genocide and enslavement carried out by the Nazi forces and their corporate allies and funders in Europe during World War 2.
The human medical experiments were organised and carried out by the same ruthless pharmaceutical corporations that funded Hitler’s rise to power. The corporations are known by the name of the cartel they formed, I. G. Farben. The mad and sadistic doctors who were involved in the work in the concentration camps were employed by the corporations to do the experiments.
After the war, twenty-three I. G, Farben executives and the worst of the doctors were tried in what is known as the Nuremberg Tribunals (court hearings), and these hearings gave rise to a specific code after WW2 to protect human beings from such experimentation. It is known as the Nuremberg Code, after the city where the trials of Nazis and drug corporation executives took place. You will find out more about this in Topic 10, Protecting our Rights.
(ii) Human Dignity
Donna Hicks, PhD has made a study of human dignity her life’s work. Dignity and respect are very much linked and inseparable concepts. Dignity is inherent in every human being. It is an intrinsic quality we all possess. Respect is earned by actions and demeanour. Actions and/or communications perceived as a violation of dignity (known to young people as ‘dissing’ or disrespecting) are the trigger for violence, stabbings, gang warfare, revolutions and outright war. Respect, on the other hand, is earned as a result of living and expressing your human dignity.
Here is a review of Dignity, The Essential Role it Plays in Resolving Conflict by Donna Hicks, PhD.
“The desire for dignity is universal and powerful. It is a motivating force behind all human interaction—in families, in communities, in the business world, and in relationships at the international level. When dignity is violated, the response is likely to involve aggression, even violence, hatred, and vengeance. On the other hand, when people treat one another with dignity, they become more connected and are able to create more meaningful relationships. Surprisingly, most people have little understanding of dignity, observes Donna Hicks in this important book. She examines the reasons for this gap and offers a new set of strategies for becoming aware of dignity’s vital role in our lives and learning to put dignity into practice in everyday life.”
“Drawing on her extensive experience in international conflict resolution and on insights from evolutionary biology, psychology, and neuroscience, the author explains what the elements of dignity are, how to recognise dignity violations, how to respond when we are not treated with dignity, how dignity can restore a broken relationship, why leaders must understand the concept of dignity, and more. Hicks shows that, by choosing dignity as a way of life, we open the way to greater peace within ourselves and to a safer and more humane world for all.”
Human rights are a fragile flower that can easily be frozen by the icy hand of oppression or burnt away in the heat of war. To ensure respect for every person and for their human rights, we must work towards universal human rights education and, at the same time, be eternally vigilant to protect the level of human rights that we already have.
(iii) A Simplified Version of Paragraphs 1 and 5 of the Preamble
Because ignoring the rights of human beings has caused acts of hatred that have shocked and saddened the people of the world; and we all want to live in a world where people can speak freely about what they believe and where no one is poor or afraid;
Because the peoples of the world have said in the Charter of the United Nations that they believe in human rights and in the value of each and every man, woman and child, and they have decided to work for a better world, a better life and more freedom for all people;
The original wording of Paragraph 2 of the Universal Declaration, which mentions “[B]arbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind”, could also refer to the firebombing of Dresden by the Allied forces and the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The second part of this paragraph contrasts the experience of World War 2 with the kind of world people want.