Introduction
Seven decades have passed since the global community collectively recognized that all humans, regardless of their individual status in society—whether it pertains to their race, gender, sexual orientation, or age—are “...equal in dignity ” predicated solely on their existence. This marked a profound shift in how society writ large defined dignity—a transition from a way to denote nobility to a quality of worthiness accessible to all (inherent dignity). This fact is what grounded the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states in its preamble that “inherent dignity” is fundamental to “…freedom, justice, and peace in the world. ” Regardless of this, there are still factors that stand in the way of full promotion
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Comparatively, freedom operates in a likewise manner; the theory of positive liberty suggest that one must have a capacity to do something rather than merely being free from external restraints, i.e., having the right material and social conditions to pursue a life of one’s choice. In this sense, dignity, while legitimate, has no power without acknowledgement from others. Acknowledgment is shown either in the literal sense—how society perceives a group or person, and their role in it—, or through laws that grant people certain liberties, both on a local and global level. The latter in most cases are parallel to human rights or serve to highlight the disparities between a state’s social awareness versus the global …show more content…
South African apartheid was a system that exacerbated the racial divides among Black and Indian South Africans and Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch colonizers. Racial hierarchy was a basic tenet on which this quasi-fascist regime was built. And because of the indoctrination of racism in every facet of life, before and during this period, the ruling political party, comprised of the small white population in SA, had the social and economic means to overpower a much larger ethnic group. However, what is more surprising is that apartheid began the same year the UDHR was created. While the UN did take some initial steps in demonizing these actions in 1950, it was agreed upon by members that action was limited because it was viewed as an “internal” conflict .
Apartheid, as occurred in South Africa, highlights how dignity—while something individuals recognize as being inherent to us as humans—can be stripped away through legal means, and then normalized in society, both on a national and international level. This essay will examine the context in which Apartheid occurred and the human right violations during this period under the National Party regime. Expanding off this analysis, I will review how effect South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was in reestablishing the dignity of victims, and stabilizing the long dichotic socioeconomic
According to Thomas Jefferson, all men are created equal with certain unalienable rights. Unalienable rights are rights given to the people by their Creator rather than by government. These rights are inseparable from us and can’t be altered, denied, nullified or taken away by any government, except in extremely rare circumstances in which the government can take action against a particular right as long as it is in favor of the people’s safety. The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America mentions three examples of unalienable rights: “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. I believe these rights, since they are acquired by every human being from the day they are conceived, should always be respected, but being realistic, most of the time, the government intervenes and either diminishes or
The fight for equality and human rights has been and still is a continuous battle played out on many fronts ranging from struggles between ruling governments and the people, the definition of societal roles and status, and also within the home on a domestic and individual level. The legacy for these battl...
Declaration of Human Rights: Dignity and Justice for All of Us. Accessed on October 29,
Klotz, Audie. “Norms Reconstituting Interests: Global Racial Equality and US Sanctions Against South Africa.” International Organization, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Summer, 1995), 451-478.
Racism is never bound by culture, language, or even continents. It is an evil that spans the globe. The history of South Africa is of a culturally divided and fragmented society. The architects of apartheid took advantage of this splintered social order to create an institutionalized separation, dehumanization and enslavement of a people through laws and customs. However, freedom can be achieved when one voice has the courage to stand up against thousands, and inspires others to stand up for what is right and just. The ending of apartheid in South Africa allows people everywhere to never again accept a different definition of freedom depending on a classification imposed by another. South Africa has forged a bright future from the chains of the darkness of the heart – the darkness known as apartheid.
In the book Country of My Skull, the author Antjie Krog uncovers the countless human rights violations that occurred during the South African Apartheid. The South African Apartheid, meaning separate or apart, was a system of racial motivated segregation in South Africa. Under this corrupt system of racial segregation, the minority group of South Africa or the White Afrikaners unjustly dominated the majority group, the black South Africans. During this period Black South Africans were unjustly subjected to punishments such as torture, kidnapping, murder, and other horrifying gross violations of human rights. However, after the abolition of the apartheid was the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a commission with the goal of restorative justice.
John Tasioulas introduces the idea that human rights are explained by the morals that humans possess through understanding of human dignity. He explains that are three connections that human dignity has to human rights. The first connection presented is that human dignity and rights are rarely distinguished between due to having virtually the same standards in regards to them. The second that dignity is a starting point in moral grounds that human rights build off of. And last, that the idea that human rights are justified by dignity, saying dignity is the ideal basis for human rights. Tasioulas chooses to focus on the last point, that it is our morals that bring about human rights and that our morals come from humans having dignity. The key thing being that human dignity is something that all possess by simply being human beings there is no merit in achievement or by what legislation or social position can give us.
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is a document which brings together all of the Fundamental Human Rights together in one, single document. Before the inception of EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the member states of the European Union had many conflicting opinions on what exactly a human right entailed, therefore the need for a single, codified document outlaying the basic Fundamental Human Rights was great. The Charter was issued in 2000 and at this time, according to Jesse Norman, The Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Industry and Energy, ‘The charter was then described as a ‘solemn proclamation’ and was designed to strengthen the EU’S political legitimacy, containing rights and freedoms as well as strengthening the rights of
During the Apartheid Era, there emerged from South Africa cases of gross human rights abuse, racism, police brutality and general mistreatment of the non-white population. Excluding the fact that South Africa was never ruled by a dictator, it can be argued that some of these features were totalitarian and that South Africa was, to a certain extent, a totalitarian state under Apartheid. This discussion will analyse the totalitarian features that were apparent during Apartheid, and will be structured in the format of the characteristics of a totalitarian state1. Political, economic and social spheres will be dealt with, with the main focus being on racial purity, a “reign of terror” and education.
The Apartheid in South Africa is one of the best examples when it comes to discrimination and human rights. The blacks in South Africa were basically denied of their human rights and treated very terribly. The segregation was awful and the blacks were denied most everything. They were denied education, land, involvement in the government, healthcare, they even were denied entry into the city at some points. Blacks were beaten and tortured for no reason and the circumstances were awful for them. What happened to human rights? Why were the black South Africans denied the right to live like everyone else? How did the country change after Nelsen Mandela was elected president? The goal in conducting this research is to answer these questions and more.
Declaration of Human Rights: Dignity and Justice for All of Us. Accessed on October 29,
Proponents of human rights argue that the concept’s universality rests in its non-discriminatory character- human rights are meant for every human being- rich and poor, white and black, men and women, young and old, leaders and followers, elites and illiterate, etc- and are all treated equally.
South Africa really began to suffer when apartheid was written into the law. Apartheid was first introduced in the 1948 election that the Afrikaner National Party won. The plan was to take the already existing segregation and expand it (Wright, 60). Apartheid was a system that segregated South Africa’s population racially and considered non-whites inferior (“History of South Africa in the apartheid era”). Apartheid was designed to make it legal for Europeans to dominate economics and politics (“History of South Africa in the apartheid era”).
The term “apartheid” directly translated from its Afrikaans origin means “separateness,” and absolute separation of rights, based on race, is what the laws of apartheid embodied. Through a brief recap of South African historical events, it is evident that native Africans have been treated as less than humane for centuries. The laws that governed slaves (known as Tulbagh Slave Code), dates back to 1753, and includes such laws as: curfews that required slaves to carry passes; slaves were forbidden to make any noise at night, including singing or whistling; slaves could not converse on the streets of Cape Town; and should they revolt in any manner perceived as violent, they were put to death (Mountain, 2005). Although its title changed, the practices of slavery continued in South Africa until 1994. Documented negotiations to end slavery can be seen as early as the 1893 when Mohandas (Mohatma)
According to the formal perspective, human dignity operates as a legal concept through its legal form. The first step in this direction attempts to justify the function of dignity as a legal principle, rather than as the idea of right. This justification builds up on the legal theories that distinct the legal principle from other normative legal concepts, such as rules and