Dignity and Health: The UDHR's Revolutionary First Article

The modern human rights revolution emerges boldly from the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Given the care lavished upon each word and phrase in the course of its elaboration, the syntax which places dignity before rights merits consideration. Dignity is clearly of vital individual and societal importance - individuals and societies spend considerable energy in the daily effort to protect, enhance and sustain their dignity. Dignity seems to flow from two components, one internal ("how I see myself") and the other external ("how others see me"). The impact on health for people living in an environment characterized by repetitive, severe and sustained violations of individual and collective dignity is likely to be substantial. It is increasingly evident that violations of dignity are pervasive events with potentially devastating negative effects on physical, mental and social well-being.