NATIONAL

SERVICE
TRAINING
PROGRAM
nstp@wvsu.edu.ph

Learner’s Guide
Module 4: Human Dignity and Rights
Voltaire B. Jacinto, MPG

Overview

This module will reintroduce to the students the value of Human Dignity and
Rights. Such learning experience is expected to appeal on the conviction and
compassion of students towards others. Human dignity is strongly defined by how
individual actions and thoughts matter to the state’s responsibility to protect and
respect human rights.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, the students must have:

▪ Defined and identified the various the Human Rights prescribed by the
national and international policies;
▪ Explained the concepts of human dignity relative to the value of Human
Rights;
▪ Valued the contributions and achievements of role models for human
rights;
▪ Imagined their roles as citizens for the preservation of human rights
▪ Developed advocacy material for human rights preservation and
protection.
▪ Recognized the real-life cases of human rights violations within the
country/community.

Introduction

A Filipino statesman and former Senator Jose Diokno once declared that “Human
rights are more than legal concepts: they are the essence of man. They are what make
man human. That is why they are called human rights; deny them and you deny man’s
humanity”.

His words immortalized the value of human rights for Filipinos under a
democratic and liberal society. Human dignity and human rights are among the most
valuable foundations of a free country. Thus, every citizen and generation must
struggle to respect and protect human rights.
What are Human Rights?

HUMAN RIGHTS are the rights that all people have by virtue of being human
beings.

HUMAN RIGHTS are derived from the inherent dignity of the human person and
are defined internationally, nationally and locally by various lawmaking bodies.

HUMAN RIGHTS is defined as the supreme, inherent, and inalienable rights to

life, to dignity, and to self-development. It is concerned with issues in both areas of civil
and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights founded on internationally
accepted human rights obligations

RIGHTS – moral power to hold (rights to life, nationality, own property, rest and
leisure), to do (rights to marry, peaceful assembly, run for public office, education), to
omit (freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, freedom from
arbitrary arrest, detention or exile) or to exact something (equal protection of the law,
equal access to public service, equal pay for equal work)

The popular term HUMAN RIGHTS was coined by Eleanor Roosevelt to replace
Rights of Man found in earlier writings.

Ponder on this:

Where. . . do universal human rights begin?

In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they
cannot be seen on any maps of the world. . . Such are the places
where every man, woman and child seek equal justice, equal
opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination.
Unless these rights have meaning there,
they have little meaning anywhere.

Eleanor Roosevelt

What is your piece of thought on this?

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 Human rights are commonly understood as being those rights which are inherent
to the human being. The concept of human rights acknowledges that every single
human being is entitled to enjoy his or her human rights without distinction as to race,
color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status.

Human rights are legally guaranteed by human rights law, protecting individuals
and groups against actions which interfere with fundamental freedoms and human
dignity. They are expressed in treaties, customary international law, bodies of principles
and other sources of law. Human rights law places an obligation on States to act in a
particular way and prohibits States from engaging in specified activities. However, the
law does not establish human rights.

Human rights are inherent entitlements which come to every person as a

consequence of being human. Treaties and other sources of law generally serve to
protect formally the rights of individuals and groups against actions or abandonment of
actions by Governments which interfere with the enjoyment of their human rights.

Human Dignity and Human Rights

People’s lives are affected in many different ways by moral and legal rights and
duties, but only few rights are so fundamental that they have been embodied as human
rights in national constitutions and international law treaties. Central concerns are
human life and dignity.

Every individual has dignity. The principles of human rights were drawn up by
human beings as a way of ensuring that the dignity of everyone is properly and equally
respected, that is, to ensure that a human being will be able to fully develop and use
human qualities such as intelligence, talent and conscience and satisfy his or her
spiritual and other needs.

Dignity gives an individual a sense of value and worth. The existence of human
rights demonstrates that human beings are aware of each other’s worth. Human dignity
is not an individual, exclusive and isolated sense. It is a part of our common humanity.

Human rights enable us to respect each other and live with each other. In other
words, they are not only rights to be requested or demanded but rights to be respected
and be responsible for. The rights that apply to you also apply to others.

Human dignity is violated, for example, when people are tortured, enslaved,
bought and sold like property, unlawfully imprisoned, murdered, degraded or
discriminated against or otherwise treated in a way that degrades them to the status of
mere objects of power wielded by others. Human dignity is also breached if people are
forced to live in absolute poverty, that is, without a minimum of food, clothes and
shelter and without effective access to education, work, medical care, justice and social
security.

The denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms not only is an individual
and personal tragedy, but also creates conditions of social and political unrest, sowing
the seeds of violence and conflict within and between societies
and nations.

From this core of existential human rights stem various rights to freedom and
equality, political rights, economic rights, social and cultural rights, collective rights,
procedural rights and specific rights for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups

The following are some of the most important characteristics of human

rights:

a) human rights are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each person;
b) human rights are universal, meaning that they are applied equally and without
discrimination to all people;
c) human rights are inalienable, in that no one can have his or her human rights
taken away other than in specific situations. for example, the right to liberty can
be restricted if a person is found guilty of a crime by a court of law; and
d) human rights are indivisible, interrelated, and interdependent for the
reason that it is insufficient to respect some human rights and not others.

In practice, the violation of one right will often affect the respect of several other
rights. All human rights should therefore be seen as having equal importance and of
being equally essential to respect for the dignity and worth of every person.

Take the Challenge:

In order to ensure that your own rights are met, you must be responsible
for your actions and how they affect others. Share your personal
experience on how your actions have affected other’s rights.

Quick response:
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in

the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural
backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the
United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 by General Assembly
resolution 217 A (III) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all
nations.

It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally
protected. Since its adoption in 1948, the UDHR has been translated into more than 500
languages - the most translated document in the world - and has inspired the
constitutions of many newly independent States and many new democracies.

The UDHR, together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and its two Optional Protocols (on the complaints procedure and on the death penalty)
and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional
Protocol, form the so-called International Bill of Human Rights.

Who do you think should be responsible for making sure the rules in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights are followed?

How else can we enhance our compliance to these responsibilities?

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Five Categories of Human Rights According to Nature:

1. Civil – the right to be treated as an equal to anyone else in society

Life, Belief in own religion, Opinion, Free speech Non-discrimination
according to sex, Marry Race Cultural background

2. Political – the right to vote, to freedom of speech, and to obtain

information
Vote in elections, Freely form or join political parties, Live in an
independent country, Stand for public office, Freely disagree with
views and policies of political leaders
 3. Economic – the right to participate in an economy that benefits all;
and to desirable work
Jobs
Work without exploitation
Fair wage
Safe working conditions
Form trade unions
Have adequate food
Protection against labor malpractices

4. Social – the right to education, health care, food, clothing, shelter,

and social security
Housing
Education
Health services
Recreation facilities
Clean environment
Social security

5. Cultural – the right to freedom of religion, and to speak the

language, and to practice the culture of one’s choice
Use own language
Develop cultural activities
Ancestral domains
Develop own kind of schooling

Human Rights according to recipient:

1. Individual rights- Rights accorded to individuals such as the rights to life,

education, health, work. rights to suffrage: freedom of expression, freedom from
torture, right to speedy trial

2. Collective/group rights – are rights given to a specified vulnerable group

which may be exercised because of one’s membership to such community such as
women’s rights, children’s rights, indigenous people’s rights

Common to all these rights is that they are subjective legal rights enabling
people to conduct their lives in conformity with the principles of liberty, equality and
human dignity. The recognition of subjective rights in the community, with specific
duties and responsibilities on the part of others as a corollary, transforms people from
mere passive objects of a legal or social order to active protagonists, from subjects to
citizens.

It is in this process of emancipation, of empowerment that the real

revolutionary force of human rights lies, distinguishing them from other systems of
values, such as religions in particular, because the subjective right to life or property
represents a completely different conception of human beings as active citizens than
does the mere prohibition of murder or theft.

Let us review our Bill of Rights under 1987 Philippine Constitution. List down
or enumerate, at least, ten rights that every citizen is entitled to invoke for
his or her protection.
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What is the State’s responsibility for human rights?

The obligation to protect, promote and ensure the enjoyment of human rights is
the prime responsibility of the State. Many human rights are owed by States to all
people within their territories, while certain human rights are owed by a State to
particular groups of people: for example, the right to vote in elections is only owed to
citizens of a State. State responsibilities include the obligation to take pro-active
measures to ensure that human rights are protected by providing effective remedies for
persons whose rights are violated, as well as measures against violating the rights of
persons within its territory.

Under international law, the enjoyment of certain rights can be restricted in

specific circumstances. For example, if an individual is found guilty of a crime after a
fair trial, the State may lawfully restrict a person’s freedom of movement by
imprisonment. Restrictions on civil and political rights may only be imposed if the
limitation is determined by law but only for the purposes of securing due recognition of
the rights of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and
the general welfare in a democratic society. Economic, social and cultural rights may be
limited by law, but only insofar as the limitation is compatible with the nature of the
rights and solely to promote the general welfare in a democratic society.

In a legitimate and declared state of emergency, States can take measures which
limit or suspend the enjoyment of certain rights. Such derogations are permitted only to
the extent necessary for the situation and may never involve discrimination based on
race, color, sex, language, religion or social origin.

QUICK ANSWER:

What would you suggest that the government must do to strengthen

its efforts in the protection of human rights in the country? What rights do
you think need urgent attention by the government?

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Learning Activities:

Activity 1: What human rights do we have?’

Instructions: Find a picture that features or reflects an issue of human rights. Give a
catchy title or caption for the picture. What human right/s is depicted or expressed
by the picture? Write a brief description to express the meaning behind the picture.
Limit your work (picture and description) in one page only.

Activity 2: Who is you Human Right Champion?

Instructions: Who is your most admired personality in human rights? Choose a person
(local or foreign) who exemplifies greatness or inspiration in the struggle for human
rights protection. What are his/her significant achievements? How would you promote
him/her to inspire others?

Activity 3: Creative Advocacy

Instructions: Make a one-page infographic or a campaign slogan that you may use to
raise the awareness of the youth and to promote the protection of human right in the
Philippines.

References:
https://www.youthforhumanrights.org