Some myths and truths about human rights
Information is the first step towards claiming guarantee of rights.
Sala do Conselho de Direitos Humanos da ONU
On the date when the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is being celebrated, we have made a list of some myths and inaccurate information that we often come across on the subject of human rights. Information is the first step to guaranteeing rights, so it is important to understand what is true and what is a lie, particulary concerning your rights.
See below some myths about human rights and how to demystify them:
- Human rights are for upright citizens
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights applies to all human beings. The second article of the document is about precisely this: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, 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,” and goes on to stress that “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.” Therefore, there is absolutely no means for excluding one social group or another from benefitting from rights. In other words, human rights are for everybody, on the grounds of being human.
- Human rights are left-wing
Human rights are for everybody, irrespective of political preference. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the principle guideline for national legislation and international treaties, covers both collective social rights and freedom of assembly and association, as well as rights concerning individual freedom, such as rights to private property, life and personal safety.
- If 30 people can fit, then so can 50 people (on prisons)
Article 5 of the UDHR provides for humanitarian treatment of people in prison, when it says that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” It is essential to ensure that every person who is deprived of liberty has the right to carry out their sentence with dignity and that all their other rights are also guaranteed, according to the Constitution and this is reinforced in Criminal Law.
In the case of Brazil, we currently rank third in incarceration in the world, The Brazilian prison population is over 726 thousand people. If this were the population of a city it would be the city with the 25th largest population of the 5,570 Brazilian municipalities. Forty percent of this total are people who have not yet gone to trial. This leads to overcrowding in detention centres and is aggravating the current crisis in the prison system. According to Infopen 2016, for each available place there are two people in prison.
