The Right to Dignity Rex D. Glensy - Columbia Law School

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104 COLUMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS LAW REVIEW [43:65 concept of human dignity as their common germinating force. 184 Preambles of many regional agreements, such as the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (which declares that “[a]ll men are born free and equal, in dignity and in rights”), 185 the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 186 and the Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights, all reference the right to dignity. 187 In all of these instances, the reference to dignity seems to serve a similar purpose as that observed for the U.N. Charter and the UDHR: To provide a unifying creed unto which most nations can agree, even though the exact contours of that creed might not be specifically described. 188 Of the international regimes that have developed statements pertaining to dignity rights in their formation treaties, as well as 184. See International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Dec. 16, 1966, 999 U.N.T.S. 171 art. 10 (providing that “[a]ll persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person”); International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights pmbl., art. 13, Dec. 16, 1966, 993 U.N.T.S. 3 [hereinafter ICESCR]; International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination pmbl., Dec. 21, 1965, 660 U.N.T.S. 195,212. 185. See American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man pmbl., O.A.S Res XXX, adopted by the Ninth Int’l Conf. of American States (1948), reprinted in Basic Documetns Pertaining to Human Rights in the InterAmerican System, OEA/Ser.L.V./II.82 doc. 6 rev. 1 at 17 (1992). The InterAmerican Court of Human Rights has interpreted the right to life as incorporating a right to dignity by noting that the right to life “includes, not only the right of every human being not to be deprived of his life arbitrarily, but also the right that he will not be prevented from having access to the conditions that guarantee a dignified existence.” Case of the “Street Children” (VillagránMorales et al.) v. Guatemala, Merits, Judgment, InterAm. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 63, 144 (Nov. 19, 1999). 186. See African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, June 27, 1981, 1520 U.N.T.S. 217 (1982). 187. See Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights, League of Arab States, May 22, 2004, 12 Int’l Hum. Rts. Rep. 893 (2005). 188. There are countless other international instruments that proclaim the centrality of human dignity as part of their ethos or enumerate dignity rights as some of those to be protected. See e.g., Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War art. 3, Aug. 12, 1949, 75 U.N.T.S. 135 (prohibiting, among other things, “outrages upon personal dignity”); Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court art. 8, opened for signature July 17, 1998, 2187 U.N.T.S. 7 (entered into force July 1, 2002) (same); Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery pmbl., Sept. 7, 1956, 226 U.N.T.S. 3 (reaffirming the dignity clause of the U.N. Charter); Convention on the Rights of the Child pbml, art. 28, opened for signature Nov. 20, 1989, 1577 U.N.T.S. 3; International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, New York, Dec. 18, 1990, 2220 U.N.T.S.
2011] The Right to Dignity 105 bodies of law pertaining to those statements, the European Union stands as an example. The original European Convention on Human Rights (“European Convention”) does not contain a reference to human dignity. Other European treaties, however, such as the Revised European Social Charter, 189 the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, 190 and, most importantly, the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights (“European Charter”) incorporated into the Lisbon Treaty, all have references to both an underlying framework that is based on the allocation of dignity rights and to specific substantive provisions that contain the right to dignity in some form or another. 191 This has led the European Committee of Social Rights to declare that “[h]uman dignity is the fundamental value and indeed the core of positive European human rights law— whether under the European Social Charter or under the European Convention of Human Rights.” 192 In interpreting the European Convention, the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) and the European Commission of Human Rights (“European Commission”) have called upon the right to dignity numerous times although, as aforementioned, the European Convention (like the United States Constitution) does not actually mention the word “dignity” even once. Thus, in East African Asians v. U.K., the European Commission held that “[p]ublicly to single out a group of persons for differential treatment on the basis of race” would “constitute a special form of affront to human dignity,” and was therefore impermissible under Article 3 of the European Convention, which prohibits degrading treatment. 193 Similarly, the Court has interpreted Article 3’s main purpose as: “to protect . . . a person’s dignity,” 194 meaning that it is intended primarily to prevent behavior that is “seriously humiliating, [and] lowering as to human 189. See European Social Charter (Revised) pmbl., art. 26, opened for signature Mar. 5, 1996, C.E.T.S. 163. 190. See Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine pmbl., art. 1, opened for signature Apr. 4, 1997, C.E.T.S. 164. 191. See Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union pmbl., arts. 1, 25, 31, Dec. 18, 2000, 2000/C 364/01. 192. Int’l Fed’n of Human Rights Leagues v. France, No. 14/2003, § 31 (Eur. Comm. of Soc. Rights 2004). 193. East African Asians v. United Kingdom, 3 Eur. H.R. Rep. 76, 86 (1973); see also gen. Moldovan v. Romania (No. 2), 44 Eur. H.R. Rep. 16 (2007). 194. Tyrer v. United Kingdom, App. No. 5856/72, 2 Eur. H.R. Rep. 1, 33 (1978).
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