The Dignity of Groups
Files
Description
Citizens of South Africa do not need me to tell them how important the idea of dignity is in our modem conceptions of human rights. Human dignity is the first of the values on which the South African Constitution is founded and, along with equality and freedom, it is the basis of South Africa's Bill of Rights. Dignity is asserted as the foundation, too, of much of international human rights law. The United Nations Charter tells us that the enterprise of setting up the UN is predicated on 'faith ... in the dignity and worth of the human person,' and 'the inherent dignity of the human person' is also said to be the basis from which the contents of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights are derived. The implication is that if you want to understand human rights, you had better begin by understanding human dignity. The meaning of dignity is key to the meaning of rights.
Source Publication
Dignity, Freedom and the Post-Apartheid Legal Order: The Critical Jurisprudence of Laurie Ackermann
Source Editors/Authors
A.J. Bernard-Naudé, Drucilla Cornell, François du Bois, Jan Glazewski
Publication Date
2008
Recommended Citation
Waldron, Jeremy, "The Dignity of Groups" (2008). Faculty Chapters. 2074.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/2074
