Each of us passes through a moment in his/her life wondering how to be a better human and to be of benefit to others. Normally this would be a sophisticated question to answer, yet the conditions we are living in might have given us a direct solution for this dilemma.
My proposed solution is simply to walk the talk when it comes to Article 3 of UN human rights declaration: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”. Just let me share my thoughts on what abiding by this article means and what not, don’t prejudge till you read please (1).
All of the below is an expression of my own point of view as a fellow Human walking on this planet and should not be associated to any other person or entity.
Year 1948, is that you? Human rights declaration context
I will just share quickly from some sources a background on the human rights declaration. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, was the result of the experience of the Second World War. With the end of that war, and the creation of the United Nations, the international community vowed to never again allow atrocities like those of that conflict to happen again (2). World War II was the largest and most violent military conflict in human history. Official casualty sources estimate battle deaths at nearly 15 million military personnel and civilian deaths at over 38 million (3).
Be a better Human via Article 3
Let me reinstate the article again: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”…
In order not to divert from today’s focus, I will be replacing “Everyone” with “Every Civilian”. This does not mean that non-civilians do not have human rights, but let’s have this as a separate discussion. I will also be focusing on “right to life”.
Let’s partially tweak the article to be: “Every civilian has the right to life and security”. Clear and straightforward? Let’s further eliminate grey areas & explain each word separately. As per Oxford dictionary, a civilian is “a person who is not a member of the armed forces or the police” (4). For the right to life, I would simplify it to “not to be killed”.
Accordingly, my “tweaked” re- interpretation for article 3 would be: “Every civilian should not be killed”, and that is only a part of the article.
Be a better Human by sticking to: Every
If you really want to be a better human, stick to the word “every” in: “every civilian should not be killed”, no but no except no if, it’s just every civilian, and that’s it. Without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. That’s all stated in article 2 of the UN human rights declaration.
Your abidance by the phrase “every civilian should not be killed” does not mean that you accept the opinions, mindset or the beliefs of every other person on the planet. We have been and will always be obtaining different opinions in every single matter in our lives; there is no one topic that you would find everyone agreeing on. By requesting, shouting for and protecting this right for civilians who you totally disagree with, you are becoming a better human as you rise above your differences and unite behind being a human being with the right to life.
By the way, the right to life applies for “every civilian” even during the time of war as stated in the Geneva convention that establishes international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war (5)
Conclusion
Always stand for saving the lives of the civilians, anytime and anywhere, regardless of their name, color, religion or any other aspect. Defending others’ right to life does not make you obtain their views, it just makes you a better human with a better sole, for yourself, your family and your community. Remember
always that what you put out comes back to you
Sources & References
Number 1: Human Rights Declaration
Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations
Number 2: History of the declaration
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/udhr/history-of-the-declaration
Number 3: World War 2 causalities
Defense Casualty Analysis System (osd.mil)
Number 4: Civilian definition in Oxford dictionary
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/civilian_1
Number 5: Civilians in war time
Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War | OHCHR
Number 6: Purpose of this blog “et3alemt eh” : what did i learn
هدف المدونة – اتعلمت إيه؟ (et3alemteh.com)