CDWS raises awareness on human rights |04 July 2016

Civil society leaders, media practitioners, young parliamentarians, community youth workers have deepened their knowledge about human rights.

This was through a human rights awareness training workshop organised by the Citizens Democracy Watch Seychelles (CDWS) as part of its efforts to actively engage citizens in the promotion and protection of human rights.

It was held at the Citizens Engagement Platform (Ceps) conference room on Saturday.

Run by Benjamin Vel, Steve Lalande and Jacques Koui, the session was also attended by the members of Women in Action Solidarity Organisation (Waso), Seychelles National Youth Assembly (SNYA), Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC), Sids Youths Aims Hub (SYAH), National Information Services Agency (Nisa), Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), GemPlus, Ceps and Nou la pour ou.

The objective of the session was to promote awareness and appreciation of fundamental human rights as well as the various mechanisms and instruments used in the enforcement of such rights.  

The training included the historical events that have led to the development of the concept of human rights, definition and characteristics of the term ‘human rights’; human rights education as a human right, the Seychelles charter of fundamental human rights and freedom, international human rights instruments signed and ratified by Seychelles; roles and functions of local human rights protection institutions.

Some main points revealed were that nobody can take away somebody else’s rights even though laws of a country can limit, protect or violate your rights.

Also one has to know one’s rights to be able to defend these.

Human right is ‘inherent’ to each individual as each human is born with human rights; ‘universal’ because it applies to everyone in the world; ‘indivisible’ as everyone is entitled to whole, human right concept and not part of it, or half of it and it is ‘unalienable’.

Those who took part in the workshop are expected to actively promote a culture of human rights and integrate them in the way they live as well as the democracy in their communities.

CDWS chairperson Eline Moses said the training constitutes an essential contribution to the long-term prevention of human rights abuses and represents an important investment in the endeavour to achieve a just society in which all human rights of all persons are valued and respected. 

“Human rights education promotes values, beliefs and attitudes that encourage all individuals to uphold their own rights and those of others. It asserts the responsibility to respect, protect, and promote the rights of all people. It develops an understanding of everyone's common responsibility to make human rights a reality in each community,” she said.

Representing the Mont Fleuri district and speaker of the SNYA Jellissa Julie said she attended this workshop as the SNYA is working on a motion proposing to the Ministry of Education to intensify the teaching of our constitution specifically our human rights in upper secondary.

“Up till now it has enabled me to understand that the human rights is categorised into five types –economic, social, political, civil, and cultural. And that human rights are universal because they apply to everyone in the world and the provisions of Seychelles charter of rights and freedom from 1993 constitution,” she said.