Non-discrimination and Stigmatization

Abstract

Justice and equality are two founding principles of universal human rights. Any attempt to infringe these principles is considered as an infringement of the human dignity. The equality principle implies the duty of equal treatment of any individual or group irrespectively of their particular characteristics, and any infringement is discriminatory.

Introduced from the very beginning of human rights philosophy, the duty of nondiscrimination has been affirmed and considered as guiding principle in all documents and legislations. In bioethics like in human rights philosophy, the principle of nondiscrimination is based on the understanding that discrimination is socially constructed rather than “natural.” The concept of stigmatization has been introduced in bioethics by UNESCO as a distinguished kind of discrimination that may have a serious impact on the right to health and benefit of scientific research.

Consequently, nondiscrimination and stigmatization have been recognized as universal principles of bioethics in Article 11 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (UNESCO, 2005). It recognizes the need and paves the way for concerted action against inequality and the institutional mechanisms which perpetuate it. It also aims to fight against any discrediting process, which stigmatizes an individual or a group on any kind of ground.

Thus, the principle of nondiscrimination and stigmatization is to be understood, implemented, protected, and promoted, at national and international level, in accordance with the whole set of principles proclaimed in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights.