As South Africans we can use the newly launched Bill of Responsibilities to educate ourselves and our children about taking responsibility for our lives if we want to enjoy the rights we have and fight for those we don''t.
South Africa recently celebrated Human Rights Day. Most people reading this know that we have basic human rights, and sadly many people do not either know their rights or know how to ensure that they can benefit from those rights. This is very evident in a country such as ours where a great number of people live below the poverty line, and it is a topic that receives much attention in the media, and rightly so, especially around Human Rights day.
Something important that those of us fortunate enough to enjoy most of our rights may forget, however, is the fact that rights go hand in hand with responsibilities. We have the right to employment but we have the responsibility to put in the hours and do our best to earn the salary we get paid. We have a right to refuse removal but we have the responsibility not to litter.
This year, Lead SA and the Department of Education, together leaders from various Faiths put together a Bill of Responsibilities that correspond directly with the Bill of Rights.
Bill of Responsibilities from Lead SA on Vimeo.
This very practical list offers us something we can discuss with our families, and something we as adults would do well to live by ourselves.
Some examples of the Bill of Responsibilities:
The right to human dignity places on me the responsibility to:
• treat people with reverence, respect and dignity
• be kind, compassionate and sensitive to every
human being, including greeting them warmly and
speaking to them courteously
• be kind, compassionate and sensitive to every
human being, including greeting them warmly and
speaking to them courteously
The right to free expression is not unlimited, and does not allow us to:
• express views which advocate hatred, or are based
on prejudices with regard to race, ethnicity, gender or
religion
• we must therefore take responsibility to ensure this
right is not abused by ourselves or others, to not tell or
spread lies, and to ensure others are not insulted or
have their feelings hurt
For the full Bill of Responsibilities (there are 12, corresponding to the 12 rights in the Bill of Rights) visit http://leadsa.co.za/bor/ .