Chapter five: Values in a human rights organization
1-Introduction
Human rights organizations play an important role in protecting and
promoting the rights and dignity of individuals. In order to perform this
role effectively, these organizations must be guided by clear ethical
values. These values influence how decisions are made, how staff
members interact with each other, and how the organization deals with
society. The following section discusses some of the most important
values that should guide the work of human rights organizations.
2-Values in a human rights organization
What values do you think are of particular importance in running a
human rights organization?
Here are some values that you might have chosen:
a- Respect for other people
b- Tolerance of different points of view
c- Participation of staff in decision making
d- Transparency in the decision – making process
e- Accountability of managers, staff and office-holders
f- Fair pay and good working conditions
g- Sensitivity on issues of gender
These are values that we might hope to see in the management of any type
of enterprise.
a- Respect for other people
This is one of the most basic human values. It is the expectation that you
will treat other people in the same way that you would want to be treated
yourself.
This respect is due whatever position a person occupies in the
organization – from director to cleaner.
b- Tolerance of differences
One of the things that marks out the culture of human rights is a conviction
that differences are a healthy and positive thing. This applies whether the
differences are of opinion, culture, class, race, ethnicity etc…
This is important for respecting the rights of the other people who work
in your organization. But it will also make for a more creative and
dynamic organization.
c- Participation in decision – making
There are many different ways of organizing a human rights group. It may
be a self-appointed non-governmental organization, it may be a
membership organization, it may be a community-based organization.
Yet the process of decision-making in the organization should be
participatory. That is to say that, as far as possible, everyone affected by
a decision should have a chance to express their opinion.
That way, the organization will reach better decisions because it will draw
on the expertise and experience of the whole organization and it will be
more likely to implement them effectively because everyone will be
committee.
d- Transparency
This is closely related to the question of participation. Of course, in
practice, not everyone will be involved in all decisions- that would
paralyze the organization.
But everyone should know what decisions have been made, who made
them and for what reasons. That way it will be clear where responsibility
lies.
Bad managers like to take credit when something goes right and shift the
blame when something goes wrong. Transparency means that everyone
can see what is going on in reality.
e- Accountability
In turn it is closely related to accountability. There may be many lines of
accountability in an organization running in different directions.
Members, Staff, Managers and funders are all accountable to each other
in different ways.
f- Fair pay and good working conditions
Fair pay for fair work. Employees should also work in a safety and healthy
environment.
The same, of course, goes for terms of service and working conditions. So
annual leave, special leave, study opportunities etc… should all reflect
advanced and progressive practice that respects the rights of workers.
g- Gender Sensitivity
Gender sensitivity as one of the values that should be reflected in a human
rights organization. It should be that if the various values that we have
outlined are respected in an organization then gender sensitivity will
follow automatically.
But it isn’t usually that simple.
Gender- or the social relationship between the sexes- is not the only
potential source of discrimination or mistreatment in a human rights
organization. (Between men and women).
Nowadays may also be tensions arising from class, social or ethnic origin.
These are no less important.
Gender is an especially important issue, because it is one that is likely to
crop up in any human rights organization. It has particular dimensions that
are different from relations between social classes (For example: Sexual
harassment).
3-A- Non-Discrimination:
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of human rights begins: “all human
beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.
Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of human rights proclaims,
“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms, without distinction of
any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, property, birth… “.
This Article is an explicit guarantee of equal- and thus all- human rights
for every person.
B- Discrimination:
Discrimination is the unfair or unequal treatment of a person or a
group of people because of characteristics such as race, gender, religion,
language, nationality, or social background.
In a simpler way:
Discrimination means treating someone differently or unfairly because of
who they are, not because of their abilities or actions.
4- Conclusion
In conclusion, human rights organizations must operate according to
strong ethical values such as respect, tolerance, participation,
transparency, accountability, fair working conditions, and gender
sensitivity. These values help ensure that organizations promote human
rights not only in society but also within their own internal structure.