On December 10 (next Saturday), the world will observe Human Rights Day (see Universal Declaration of Human Rights). The theme this year is: Stand up for someone’s rights today! As the UN states, this “is based on the Declaration’s fundamental proposition that each one of us – everywhere and at all times – is entitled to the full range of human rights, and that it’s everyone’s responsibility to uphold them. Take a stand. Defend someone’s rights. Human rights belong equally to each of us. They bind us together as a global community. Each one of us can make a difference.
“Many of us are fearful about the way the world is heading. Disrespect for basic human rights continues to be widespread in all parts of the globe. Extremist movements subject people to horrific violence. Messages of intolerance and hatred prey on our fears. Humane values are under attack. We must reaffirm our common humanity. Wherever we are, we can make a real difference – in the street, in school, at work, in public transport; in the voting booth, on social media. The time for this is now. ‘We the peoples’ can take a stand for rights. And together, we can take a stand for more humanity. It starts with each of us.”
The Catholic Church teaches that the most fundamental of social justice principles, upon which all other principles are based, is the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person.
On May 20, Pope Francis reaffirmed this when he said: “The firm commitment for human rights springs from an awareness of the unique and supreme value of each person” – made in the image and likeness of God. Human rights are central to the Church’s mission in the world. We believe that the measure of any society is whether what we do threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.
Today, human rights are in crisis. In a world in which many have lost their moral compass and in which selfishness, greed, secularism and moral relativism obfuscate priorities and stand as obstacles to God’s mercy, our Church calls on all followers of Christ and people of goodwill to stand on the side of justice; to respect, protect and promote human rights which are described in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church as being universal, inalienable and inviolable – from conception to natural death.
In 2008 Pope Benedict XVI highlighted the dangers of relativism which, he said, “removes rights from their proper context because it implies that rights are not based on the natural law inscribed on our hearts and thus not present in all cultures and civilizations.” (see Cardinal Turkson’s speech at https://zenit.org/articles/cardinal-turkson-on-human-rights/ )
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Read the comprehensive Catholic ‘charter of rights’ which Pope St John XXIII outlined in his 1963 encyclical, Pacem in Terris. Note, however, the crucial consideration he added: “The natural rights of which we have so far been speaking are inextricably bound up with as many duties…. These rights and duties derive their origin, their sustenance, and their indestructibility from the natural law, which in conferring the one imposes the other…. It follows that in human society one’s natural right gives rise to a corresponding duty in others; the duty, that is, of recognising and respecting that right…. To claim one’s rights and ignore one’s duties, or only half fulfil them, is like building a house with one hand and tearing it down with the other.” (nn. 28, 30)
Pope Francis has rightly reminded us that: “Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that creates huge inequalities.” Are we doing all that we can in T&T to fulfil our human rights obligations? We need to link human rights to the concept of integral human development – putting people at the centre of development. Pope Benedict XVI defined ‘integral human development’ as ‘the development of each dimension of a person and of all persons’.
While the Government should examine its policies, procedures, legislation and practices to ensure they are people-centred, we also have a duty in our homes, parishes, our schools, and our workplaces to play our part in promoting human rights.
Spend some time to raise your awareness and that of your family about our Church’s teaching on human rights; reflect on whether or not your own biases and prejudices cause you to harden your hearts against those whose rights you should be championing; commit to speak out/write about injustices/human rights violations and to promote the common good; join/donate to organisations that promote human rights. Let’s work to improve our human rights record.
