Photo via biblestudy.net

The Working Group on Human Dignity established by EU Parliament

Press release by the Working Group on Human Dignity

The Working Group states that: “Human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, our creator. In acknowledging this, we allow the moral sense to testify that the human person has certain properties, and that these properties are intrinsic and indelible.

These properties have come to be known in the modern, secular state as �?fundamental human rights’, and it is these rights the Working Group will seek to recognise in their fullest capacity by recognising their source.”

Last week marked the 60th anniversary of one of the foundational events of modern society: the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, much has changed since this event in 1948. As our common culture has changed, so too has our philosophical understanding of what man is.

One important way in which things have changed is in the way that all of the EU countries have become more secular. How has this transformation altered the understanding of human dignity that the preamble to the UDHR says is “inherent”; and along with the “inalienable’ rights of all members of the human family, is �?the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”?

Gay Mitchell MEP, has established the Working Group on Human Dignity to explore these themes in further detail. Speaking at the launch the Working Group’s Chairman Gay Mitchell said: “The Working Group will do two things:

- By recalling that Man’s rights are inalienable from his/her being, and not the product of legal charter, the Working Group will promote an important principle regarding human dignity.

- The Working Group will make explicit the point that in believing Man (male and female) is created in the image and likeness of God lies the most effective protection of Man’s dignity (and therefore his/her rights). I must say that this is not about me forcing my faith onto others. I was prompted to do this because I got fed up with others trying to impose their views on me! Their militancy certainly doesn’t reflect either my own principles – or those of my constituents. I respect the views of others and will work with them in the interests of the Community, but I insist that they respect our views as well.”

Nirj Deva MEP, a former candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as secretary general of the United Nations, and the Chairman of the Working Group’s Inter-Parliamentary Delegation asked: “Why does the European Parliament need this Working Group? Because we believe it is essential to the balance between the rights and responsibilities of the individual and the power of the State.

“Recognition of Man’s authentic dignity affects society’s ability to organise itself in a virtuousway politically, so that this balance never crosses the tipping point: it is the basis of the assertion that the proper relationship between the individual and State is that the latter exists to serve the former, not vice versa.”

Benjamin Harnwell, the Working Group’s Secretary General, said: “We are now asking the question, why is the current commitment to the rights-led approach in contemporary politics not enough? We think that it is impossible to deny the source of Man’s transcendent dignity, and at the same time maintain that such dignity exists. The school of �?humanism’ tried to do just this, and its inevitable failure has left Man in the precarious state of having no inherentrights other than those which the social community deigns to confer on him. This is an expression of what might be called inauthentic human dignity – and it has very dangerous undertones indeed.”

SALE! 40% OFF! How to Be Happier 7 Days a Week

TAGS: European Union Working Group on human dignity Universal Declaration of Human Rights Benjamin Harnwell

[12/20/2008]

Print Version