Human Rights

As a participant of a human rights delegation to Rwanda, this journey has been filled with emotions.  Throughout the past two weeks our group of 15 internationals (coming from the US, Canada, China, Australia, England, and Bosnia) joined 15 Rwandans and 1 Congolese to explore the concept of human rights in a global context.  It's amazing to see how on a basic level, everyone can agree that human rights are granted simply because one is human, and they serve to allow one to live a life with dignity.  I have learned that different categories of rights are emphasized according to location (for example, political rights and freedom of speech are especially significant in Rwanda), but in the end, all human rights are significant.

As part of our journey here, our group has visited several agencies in  Rwanda that work in the human rights field.  Below is a picture of our international group at our site visit to a woman's sewing cooperative.  All members of the cooperative are Rwanda woman living with HIV.  The group gives these women a way to support themselves and live with dignity.  Other site visits included an embassy, an organization support widows of the genocide, a football (soccer) for peace organization, and many others.

Below is a picture of one of our workshops break out session to compare and contrast different nations' constitutions and how (or if) they incorporate human rights in them.