Human Rights

A. The Reason for Human Rights

• Rights are moral claims.
• Observing each person’s human rights is an integral aspect of serving justice to everybody.
• The aim is to ensue the dignity of every human being.
• They are inalienable to each person.
• The basis for a decent human life is based on human rights.

B. The Poor and Human Rights

• Poverty greatly affects how a person is treated in society. The higher you are in the social ladder, the more people give respect to you.
• The poor in this case, don’t receive much respect because of their position. There is a class discrimination that marginalized them from the rest of society. They therefore considered being citizens of lower stature.
• Since the poor don’t get their due respect, complications such as abuse and exploitation arise. With abuse and exploitation, their rights are breached, and they aren’t treated as humans anymore, but as animals being pimped or hoarded. (E.g. children brought in to work for firecracker factories in extremely harsh conditions, and young girls being peddled in beer houses and night clubs)
• They lost the respect that should’ve been entitled to them because they are poor. That very financial factor determines how much respect and dignity is put into a person – which is not clearly a moral outlook.
• Without respect and dignity, human rights are also eradicated in the process. What rights will be left, if these people aren’t even treated as humans in the first place?

C. Morality and Mentality

• No matter how poor they may seem to be, they are still human beings – deserving of all respect and dignity as any person out there.
• They are also human beings, hence they deserve human rights. It’s something due to them, and that’s basically how justice can be served in a foundation level.

D. Human Rights in Discussion

• Use any copy of the Rights of Man, and have that discussed with the class.
• Cite each right, and its corresponding upholding situations, and violations. Where in society does this right is being exercised? Where is it being violated? Who are the people being denied of such rights?
• Then explain how human rights are fundamental in any developing society and the call for equality among each other.
• Have the students participate in the discussion by asking questions on how to improve the implementation of human rights.
• For an added activity, have the students make their own list of human rights and explain it to the class.

Further Reading

• Economics lesson plans were based and adopted from Fr. Roberto Yap's economics notes found in the Tulong Dunong Sourcebook and Michael P. Todaro: Economics for a Developing World