March Newsletter
Honouring Human Rights for All
A healthy society is just as important as a healthy body or mind. Happy, healthy societies are those based on a strong foundation of human rights. These are fundamental rights that you are entitled to, simply because you were born human – regardless of your race, sex, language, nationality or religious beliefs.
What are Human Rights?
A human right is defined as “a right which is believed to belong to every person.” Human rights are based on core principles like liberty, fairness, equality, dignity and respect. These rights give us the freedom to build happy lives of a high quality, and also protect us from unfair or undue government interference.
Unfortunately human rights abuses do happen, but a good way to prevent this is to stay informed about your basic rights, and the rights of others. Countries around the world have official documentation outlining the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of those living there (for example, a Bill of Rights or a Constitution). Make sure you’re familiar with the rights upheld by law in your country.
Rights & Responsibilities
With human rights come human responsibilities. Nobody should use their rights as a license to simply do whatever they feel like, or to infringe on the rights of their fellow humans.
As a human being protected by human rights, a certain standard of behaviour is expected from you. What can you do to take responsibility for upholding human rights in your community?
Be an Advocate for Human Rights
There are so many ways to keep human rights alive, for yourself and those around you. Here are ten ways to become a better advocate for human rights:
- Obey the rules and laws put in place to enforce safety and protect human life
- Treat people from all walks of life with respect and dignity
- Be honest and fair in all your dealings with others (business or personal)
- Be kind and compassionate to all human beings
- Respect other people’s beliefs, and their right to (respectfully) express those beliefs
- Protect both private and public property from destruction and theft
- Protect the environment by making eco-friendly choices and using resources sparingly
- Find peaceful ways of solving interpersonal conflicts
- Speak up against and report acts of racism, sexism or xenophobia
- Speak up against and report physical and verbal abuse, bullying, threats and extortion
By accepting your human responsibilities and setting a good example to others, you’ll be playing an active role in upholding basic human rights in your community. Just one individual speaking up and doing the right thing can make a big difference!
Sources
Building a culture of responsibility and humanity in our schools. Retrieved from: http://www.education.gov.za
Connecting human rights to everyday life. Retrieved from: http://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au
What are human rights Retrieved from: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com
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