Ai Weiwei - Human dignity is in danger. In 2019 we must stand as one to survive
What does it mean to be
human? That question sits at the core of human rights.
To be human has specific implications: human self-awareness and the actions
taken to uphold human dignity – these are what gives the concept of humanity a
special meaning.
Human self-awareness
and human actions determine the interplay between individual thought and
language and the wider society. It is our actions as humans that deliver
economic security, the right to education, the right to free association and
free expression; and which create the conditions for protecting expression and
encouraging bold thinking. When we abandon efforts to uphold human dignity, we
forfeit the essential meaning of being human, and when we waver in our
commitment to the idea of human rights, we abandon our moral principles. What
follows is duplicity and folly, corruption and tyranny, and the endless stream
of humanitarian crises that we see in the world today.
More than two
centuries have passed since the concept of human rights was first developed.
During that time humanity has gone through various stages of history and the
world has seen enormous changes. In Europe, what was once a collection of
colonialist, autocratic states has transformed into a democratic society with a
capitalist orientation, establishing a mechanism that protects individual
rights. Other societies are also seeing structural changes, and the concept of
human rights is facing grave challenges.
In part these
challenges stem from the disparate demands of countries in different stages of
development, with contrasting economic situations and competing interests. But
challenges also come from divergent conceptions and understandings of human
rights, human dignity, morality and responsibility, and from different
interpretations and applications of the core principles of human rights. In the
contemporary world, as our grasp of the fundamental values and principles of
human rights and humanitarianism weakens, we risk losing our rights,
responsibilities and our power to uphold human dignity.
History shows that a
moral failure is always accompanied by painful realities, visible everywhere.
The global refugee crisis is worsening daily, and 70 million
refugees have been forced to leave their homes by war and poverty. Our
living environment is constantly being degraded, and the ecological balance is
ever more fragile. Armed conflicts persist and potential political crises lurk;
regional instabilities grow more acute; autocratic regimes brutally impose
their will, while democratic governance is in decline. Unreasoning and
unrestrained expansion under a nationalist, capitalist order is exacerbating
the global gap between rich and poor. Our views of the world have become more
divided and more conflicted than ever… read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/01/human-dignity-danger-ai-weiwei
