March 2007

Without implementation, our declarations ring hollow. Without action, our promises are meaningless. Villagers huddling in fear at the sound of government bombing raids or the appearance of murderous militias on the horizon find no solace in the unimplemented words of the Geneva Conventions, to say nothing of the international community’s solemn promises of “never again” when reflecting on the horrors of Rwanda a decade ago. Treaties prohibiting torture are cold comfort to prisoners abused by their captors, particularly if the international human rights machinery enables those responsible to hide behind friends in high places. A war-weary population infused with new hope after the signing of a peace agreement quickly reverts to despair when, instead of seeing tangible progress towards a Government under the rule of law, it sees warlords and gang leaders take power and become laws unto themselves. And solemn commitments to strengthen democracy at home, which all States made in the Millennium Declaration, remain empty words to those who have never voted for their rulers and who see no sign that things are changing.

The key problem with regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is implementation. In part, lack of implementation results from oppressive-humiliating relations, where those in dominating power fear that they will suffer considerable material loss, as well as degradation, if the oppressive relations are replaced by cooperative-egalitarian ones. In part, lack of implementation results from the lack of awareness that relations need not be oppressive or humiliating, that such relations are not an inevitable and natural state of being which must be accepted. The lack of awareness, a political consciousness that a better relationship is possible, often exists among both the oppressed and the oppressors. In part, it results from our lack of knowledge of how to bring about the changes which would facilitate the peaceful, humane transitions from entrenched oppressive-humiliating relationships to more cooperative, egalitarian ones. Oppressive-humiliating relations exist at all levels – among and within nations, among and within religious and ethnic groups, between the sexes and within our various institutions (the family, school, workplace, political, healthcare, etc.). It need not be extreme and involve the legal system (as in slavery, apartheid or the lack of a right to vote) nor violent (as in tyrannical societies). It may take the form of “civilized” oppressive-humiliating relationships. Such “civilized” humiliations occur as a consequence of unconscious assumptions and reactions of well-meaning people in ordinary interactions that result from unquestioned norms, habits, symbols and the embedded rules and stereotypes that exist in various institutions. The Journal of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies provides a splendid opportunity for social scientists and social activists, from various disciplines, to contribute theoretical and research papers, as well as papers relating to practice, which will enhance knowledge of the conditions which foster dignifying as well as humiliating relationships and, more importantly, which will enhance knowledge of how to transform humiliating relationships to dignifying ones.

References: Annan, Kofi A. (2005). In larger freedom: Towards development, security, and human rights for all. United Nations, New York. Lindner, Evelin. (2006). Making enemies: Humiliation and international conflict. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Security International.

Morton Deutsch Teachers College, Columbia University November 22, 2006

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