The human rights philosophy is not mere jargon but a natural principle of dignity, respect, and equality. This makes the foundation of a just society where the coexistence among people is relished and thriving without any disruption. In every peaceful and equitable society, the phenomenon of respect is the cornerstone of every religion, culture, civilization, and intellectual tradition.
This principle is more relevant than ever before. Today, we are living in a society that is fragmented on the basis of race, gender, economic inequality, religion, culture, ethnicity, and many more factors. Owning the philosophy of human respect is the need of the hour and must be properly introduced into our society. How could this be achieved? Before exploring the way of creating awareness, we need to understand the simple and literal meaning of the Human Respect Philosophy.
This means that every individual human being possesses inherent dignity, which must be recognized and acknowledged. It commences with a belief and conviction that every human being deserves to be respected regardless of his background, social status, and faith. He must be respected by the virtue of being human and shouldn’t rely on his level of education, wealth, power, and social standing. Given that human respect is universal and unconditional, it must be rooted in consciousness of society.
Moreover, the awareness and discourse could only be introduced into society by the exploitation of the social tools that are deeply inherited by its people. Since most of the people are either affiliated or emotionally attached to religion and culture. Each and every religion’s teachings and values are based on the concept of human dignity, whether it’s Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, or Judaism. There are scores of religions in the contemporary world, but I mentioned the largest and most archaic ones with whom the majority of people are attached.
All of this is believed to be divine, and they emphasize the centrality of human respect and equality. Coming to the different cultures of the world, every culture at the core of which lies dignity and equality promotes such moral values, be it South Asian, Japanese, Chinese, Western, or Greek. Their respect varies for different segments of society without any hierarchical order because they believe in unselective and absolute respect. Both religions and cultures offer the same moral values and ethical frameworks of respect, dignity, and equality but expressed differently. They guided the individual to respect each other beyond the boundaries demarcated by conventional wisdom.
Moving on to the legal aspect of human rights philosophy after discussing the unbinding form of it. This principle is so relevant and significant even though the current international law and order is entirely based on the philosophy of human respect. After the devastating effects of World War 2, the global community decided to recognize the urgency of such philosophy, as it was imperative to safeguard and protect the collective dignity of the people and globe.
This led to the adoption of the UDHR. The very first article of it asserts that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, specifying human respect as a moral and legal requirement. This landmark proclamation had set a standard for all the countries around the globe that human respect is an important legal principle rather than a virtue. It must be introduced by countries into their domestic law as a protection instrument against any form of abuse at the hands of the state. This is essential because it serves as the philosophical backbone of justice.
To conclude it, we must admit the principle of human rights philosophy as a natural principle as we are recognizing the others. Without it we couldn’t build a prosperous society, as it is the foundation of it. When people and communities value respect and collaborate, harmony and happiness thrive, creating an environment where everyone feels safe and participates in the progress of society without any fear of prejudice and exclusion.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global News Pakistan
Fareed Khan Kakar
Fareed Khan Kakar is a practicing lawyer based in Islamabad. His Work Focuses on Human Rights, Constitutional matters, and Social Justice Advocacy.
