Human Rights and Dignity

           In a world where inhumane acts are apparent, it is important that students are educated with their rights and given an understanding of their dignity.  This then will cause them to realize that there is a great need for these rights to be communicated to other people and cause them to be agents of change by applying the principles of human dignity to their daily lives.  This was the main object of our NSTP discussion on human rights and dignity.

          We were shown a video of how the concept of human dignity developed.  The video showed its history and how various people and cultures viewed human ethics.  But since the concepts were so diverse, an international agreement on human rights and dignity was signed upon by all nations of the world establishing a worldwide baseline for proper treatment towards other people.  This was known as the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

  

        All men are equal under the law and no man should be subject to torture are two examples of the contents of the said declaration.  In essence, the declaration was created to protect and preserve the freedom of every human being without causing harm to others.  "Your dignity ends where another's begins", was the basic principle.

         It was a fun, interactive and eye-opening lecture.  I was informed of a lot of my rights that I never knew I had.  It also made me understand the value of human life and the importance of proper treatment of others.  Truly, we must learn to live with respect for others and even for self.

         This lesson was important to know and to learn to avoid being used or maltreated on the personal level.  But beyond that, it was important to learn human rights and dignity so that we, the students can inform others and start the change towards a more humane society and eventually, a more humane world.