German Group About Human Rights
Interview of Bettina Fischer from the German Team after the Training Course "The Right to Have Rights" in Berlin
Can you give us your opinion about the project "The right is to have rights"? What is the most important thing you have learned during the training?
“The right to have rights” was a project that helped us think out of the box. One of the most important skills that we have learned was the skill of public speaking. We managed to face our fears and talk in front of other people, express our pinions. We also managed to develop our creativity through the everyday activities. However, if I had to pick only one of the most important things that we have learned that would be the fact that we met people from all around Europe and we realised how same we are. Similarities in our culture, in our language in our food, in our everyday habits that helps you think and understand that racism and discrimination should not exist, that at the end of day we are all people that should have the right to have rights.
Why is promoting minority human rights so necessary and why we must fight for equality?
Since we live in a genuinely democratic and pluralistic society, we should protect the identity of the minority population by promoting respect and equality. Unfortunately, minority rights are still violated from hate speech to denial of fundamental rights. Everyone is entitled to live without prejudice so if you ask us why we must fight for equality is because as Martin Luther King stated, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.
Which of the Articles of the UDHR you found more interesting? Why?
One of the most interesting articles is article 1, the right to be free and equal. This is the article that covers the most. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” It is important for humanity to understand that even though everybody is born free and equal, at the same time everybody has equal opportunities during their life journey.