La dignità umana in mare alla prova della Dichiarazione Universale dei diritti umani e della prassi statale

The following contribution is intended to investigate on the theme of human dignity starting from the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which highlight this concept. To this end it traces a path of analysis that goes through distinct stages. At the outset, brief notes introduce the notion of human dignity, its close connection with the concept of “human being” and “person”, and its meaning in an objective sense in the light of the jurisprudence from which it emerged. The conclusion is that human dignity is no longer understood as an individual value but as a collective value relating to the entire international community. Subsequently the analysis provides an overview of the rules of International Law and Italian Law concerning the protection of people in danger of life rescued at sea. Finally, it is synthetically provided a direct reference to the recent events whereby the Italian State appeared as a protagonist in some cases of alleged breach of human dignity occurring at sea.