Human Rights and Dignity

Abstract

This panel is devoted to an exploration of the significance of the idea of human dignity for human rights theory and practice. This idea is at the heart of human rights discourse. The first sentence of its Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights refers to the “inherent dignity ... of all the members of the human family.” The fifth sentence expresses “faith ... in the dignity and worth of the human person.” Article 1 asserts that “[a]ll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and that they “are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” The Preambles to both Covenants (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) assert that human rights “derive from the inherent dignity of the human person.” The human rights documents also construe some specific rights in dignitarian terms. For example, UDHR presents “economic, social and cultural rights as indispensable for [persons’] dignity and the free development of [their] personality” (Article 22). However, it is far from clear what, precisely, human dignity is and how, exactly, it works in the determination of the nature, content, and justification of human rights. This panel will provide answers to these theoretical questions. It will also explore some of their implications for specific human rights, such as the rights not to be tortured, to engage in political participation, and to access decent labor conditions.

Title	Details
Human Dignity: ‘I Know it When I See it’	View Paper Details
Why Dignity Matters for the Theory and Practice of Human Rights	View Paper Details
Refiguring Dignity as Relational and Embodied	View Paper Details
Dignity, Torture, and Human Rights	View Paper Details
Human Rights and Human Dignity: A Non-Political Conception	View Paper Details