The Language of Dignity in International Law

Since the publication of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the language of dignity has become synonymous with discussions of rights at both the domestic and international levels. For some, this has been a welcome development. For others, however, this language of dignity is seen as unnecessarily obscure: serving only to obfuscate these discussions and hindering future progress. This paper lays the groundwork for an understanding of ‘dignity’ in international law. This includes appeals to, and uses of dignity, in international human rights law and international humanitarian law, but also instances that may be less familiar (e.g., the law of foreign sovereign immunity). Ultimately, this paper argues that in international law ‘dignity’ is best understood as a sort of legal status that applies to many different sorts of international legal actors (including, but not limited to, human beings, states, and other international institutions (e.g., courts)).