Human dignity and constitutions
Human dignity is the first of the European Union’s four universal values: human dignity, freedom, equality and solidarity. The European Charter of Fundamental Rights (2000), then the European Constitution (2004), put them forward on their very first page.
These two texts define the right to human dignity as a set of inviolable rights encompassing :
– the right to life
– the right to physical and mental integrity
– freedom from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
– the right not to be forced into slavery or forced labour
See:
European Constitution
European Charter
In the year 2000, around 70 constitutions referred to human dignity or the dignity of man. Geographical distribution shows that it is mainly the countries of Eastern Europe, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East/North Africa that have included it, while the Anglo-Saxon world (North America, UK, Oceania) and some European countries (France, Netherlands, Norway, etc.) have not yet included it, or not explicitly.
Source: Comparative Constitutions project, Human dignity, January 27, 2011.
Human dignity and health care
Dignity is how I see myself in your eyes.
Source: Definition by Harvey Chochinov of the University of Manitoba in Canada, who has researched the theme of dignity in palliative care.