Broadening the vision of human rights
Daisaku Ikeda
The reality of today is that people in many
places around the world are deprived of their basic human rights and
freedoms and struggle under the heel of oppression
“Human rights are the essence of the reason and spiritual values that
characterise humanity, the manifestation of the most noble qualities of
the human being.”
These are the profound words of Austregesilo de Athayde, president of
the Brazilian Academy of Letters, one of the active participants in the
process of drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Human rights
The principles voiced in the Declaration have since been codified in
the form of various international human rights instruments and have
further been enshrined in the Constitutions of many countries. The
Declaration stands as a powerful beacon in humanity’s struggle for human
rights.
However, the reality of today is that people in many places around
the world are deprived of their basic human rights and freedoms and
struggle under the heel of oppression. In addition to armed conflicts in
various regions, extreme poverty and shortages of food, drinking water
and medical supplies claim nearly 24,000 lives everyday.
Looking at a more protective world? |
In East Asian tradition, one’s 60th birthday signifies the completion
of a cycle of life, and opportunity to reflect and reassess. What is
important now is to heighten people’s awareness of human rights, to
return once more to the spirit in which the UDHR was created and ensure
that people around the world deepen their commitment to bringing human
rights to life.
And we also need to ensure that human rights are positioned at the
heart of the normative framework under which humankind operates in the
21st century. The core of the UDHR consists of “first-generation human
rights” - which are essentially related to civil and political rights -
and “second-generation human rights” - economic and social rights.
Since the UDHR was promulgated, and with the achievement of
independence by countries in Africa and Asia in the second half of the
20th Century, increasing attention has been given to “third-generation
human rights” - the so-called solidarity rights which include the right
to development, to a safe and healthy environment, to peace and to
access humanity’s common heritage.
Abuses and approach
Two trends become apparent as we review the history of human rights.
The first is a shift from a reactive approach of protecting people from
human rights abuses to a more proactive approach of engagement in
realizing a better life and a better society. The second is a shift from
a focus on the rights of individuals in isolation to a broader, more
inclusive emphasis on human solidarity and creative coexistence with the
environment.
Ultimately, the promise of human rights can only be fulfilled through
the development of a rich spirituality rooted in a respect for the lives
of others and heartfelt concern for the natural environment.
It is by taking action for the sake of others, for the sake of
society, and for the sake of future generations that human beings can
grasp the significance of our having been born in this world and can
experience genuine fulfilment and happiness. This is also the true
significance of Athayde’s statement.
‘Ocean of life’
According to the Buddhist understanding of interdependence, nothing
in this world can exist in isolation. We exist within a web of mutually
supporting and sustaining relationships. In a sense, humanity is one
family, interconnected through the “ocean of life” that is the Planet
Earth.
Any attempt to build personal happiness or societal flourishing on
the suffering of others cannot, in the long term, succeed.
More than 100 years ago, the first president of the Soka Gakkai,
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944) the founder of Soka education who was
imprisoned for his opposition to Japan’s militarist regime and died in
prison - surveyed the development of international society and called
for the world to move from military, political and economic forms of
competition to an age of “humanitarian competition.” This may be
understood as a call for a change in our sense of values, to a striving
for the welfare and happiness of both the self and others.
Unprecedented problems
Our world today, faces unprecedented problems such as the
environmental and financial crises. Without a global solidarity and a
conscious commitment to peaceful coexistence both within human society
and with the systems of life that support us, it is becoming clear that
there is no future for us. We have reached a point where we each need to
strive in our own unique way to make the greatest possible contribution
to the realization of human rights.
Rosa Parks, the mother of human rights in the U.S. once spoke of the
advice she received from her mother: “My mother taught me self-respect.
She said, ‘There’s no law that says people have to suffer.” She stressed
it was important not only to respect others, but to be the kind of
person other people respect.
Contributing to others, working for the sake of others, is not a
matter of duty. It is not simply a matter of morality. It is the highest
pinnacle of our lives as humans. As can be strongly affirmed by mothers
around the world who cherish life, to be able to contribute to the
happiness of others is, indeed, a human right.
Contributing to others opens the path of greater value than the quest
for material possessions. This is the path toward the flourishing and
blooming of the fathomless world of the human heart. |