Assertiveness and Human Rights Origins, Exercise, Education and Duties: How Assertiveness Can Help Us Better Understand Human Rights

This chapter will explore the relationship between assertiveness and human rights. The concept of “rights” is present in many definitions of “assertiveness”, in that being assertive means standing for one’s rights in a particular manner. In that sense, the author begins by explaining the origins of the relationship between the two concepts. Afterwards, he analyses the connection between human rights and assertiveness through three aspects that help better understand both ideas: first, what it means to exercise a right; second, how assertiveness can be explained through human rights education; and lastly, he suggests that to comprehend the two ideas better, it is necessary to also think in terms of “human duties”.