International Human Rights Day is marked on 10 December worldwide.This year's theme for Human Rights Day is Youth Standing Up for Human
Rights. The United Nations, in its website, says it is "capitalizing on
the momentum" gained after a year marked by the 30th anniversary
celebrations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It also said
that the UN is "spotlighting the leadership role of youth in collective
movements as a source of inspiration for a better future."
The
United Nations, through this year's theme, said they want to celebrate
the youth's potential as "constructive agents of change" and have a
large number of people help in promotion and protection of rights.
Climate change is a serious threat to children’s rights. We must take Climate Action now.
Young
people are at the front of the climate crisis movement, but may soon
have to contemplate a more profound rebellion because, as pointed out by
Greta Thunberg as she arrived for COP25, they are not being listened to
despite the millions of school students who have taken to the streets. Students in Hong Kong are waging what will most likely become a
life-and-death-struggle against Chinese authoritarianism. The recent
Hong Kong elections show they have overwhelming support. Their brave and
sustained protest is as catalytic in the global fight for democracy as
the role played by the young people in South Africa in 1976. Don’t be
misled by the occasional US or British flags, it’s democracy and rights —
not neoliberalism and inequality, they already have that — the students
want.
While some human rights defenders are internationally renowned, many
remain anonymous and undertake their work often at great personal risk
to themselves and their families. Human Rights Day is observed by the
international community every year on 10 December. It commemorates the
day in 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.In 1950, the
Assembly passed resolution 423 (V), inviting all States and interested
organizations to observe 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.
And ever since that auspicious day it has stood as the first major
stride forward in ensuring that the rights of every human across the
globe are protected. From the most basic human needs such as food,
shelter, and water, all the way up to access to free and uncensored
information, such has been the goals and ambitions laid out that day.
"All human
beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights," Article One of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads. "They are endowed with
reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of
brotherhood."
A
milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which
everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being – regardless of
race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status. It is the
most translated document in the world, available in more than 500
languages.
When the General Assembly adopted the Declaration, with 48 states in
favor and eight abstentions, it was proclaimed as a "common standard of
achievement for all peoples and all nations", towards which individuals
and societies should "strive by progressive measures, national and
international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and
observance".
Although the Declaration with its broad range of
political, civil, social, cultural and economic rights is not a binding
document, it inspired more than
60 human rights instruments which together constitute an international standard of human rights. It has helped shape human rights all over the world.
Today
the general consent of all United Nations Member States on the basic
Human Rights laid down in the Declaration makes it even stronger and
emphasizes the relevance of Human Rights in our daily lives.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights,
as the main United Nations rights official, plays a
major role in coordinating efforts for the yearly observation of Human
Rights Day.
Human Rights Day reminds us that there is much to be done and around the world to protect those who cannot voice
or respond to perpetrated discrimination and violence caused by
governments, vigilantes, and individual actors. In many instances, those
who seek to divide people for subjective means and for totalitarian
reasons do so around the globe without fear of retribution. Violence, or
the threat of violence, perpetrated because of differences in a host of
physical and demographic contrasts and dissimilarities is a blight on
our collective humanity now and a danger for our human future.
Human Rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every
person in the world, from birth until death. They apply regardless of
where you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live your
life. They should never be taken away, these basic rights are based on values such as
dignity, fairness, equality, respect and independence. But human rights
are not just abstract concepts, they are defined and protected by law.
The aim of Human Rights Day is to raise awareness around the world of
our inalienable rights – rights to basic needs such as water, food,
shelter and decent working conditions. In the UK we are protected by the
Human Rights Act 1998, however in other countries, especially
developing countries, the laws are not in place to protect people and to
ensure that their basic needs are met.
For millions of people, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is
still just a dream.Many people around the world are still denied the
most basic of human rights on a daily basis. Women’s rights are still
repeatedly denied and marginalised throughout
the globe, despite 70 years of the milestone declaration on human
rights. Confronted with widespread gender-based violence, hate and
discrimination, women’s well-being and ability to live full and active
lives in society are being seriously challenged.
Racism, xenophobia and intolerance are still problems prevalent in all
societies, and discriminatory practices are widespread, particularly regarding the
targeting of migrants and refugees.
including in rich countries where men, women and children who have
committed no crime are often held in detention for prolonged periods.
They are frequently discriminated against by landlords, employers and
state-run authorities, and stereotyped and vilified by some political
parties, media organizations and members of the public.
Many other groups face discrimination to
a greater or lesser degree. Some of them are easily definable such as
persons with disabilities, stateless people, gays and lesbians, members
of particular castes and the elderly. Others may span several different
groups and find themselves discriminated against on several different
levels as a result.
Those who are not discriminated against
often find it hard to comprehend the suffering and humiliation that
discrimination imposes on their fellow individual human beings. Nor do
they always understand the deeply corrosive effect it has on society at
large.
Nearly a billion people do not have enough food to eat, and even in
wealthier countries like the UK and the US where there is an increasing
growth in food banks.
Poverty is a leading factor in the failure to protect the economic and
social rights of many individuals around the world. For the half of the
world population living on less than $2.50 a day, human rights lack any
practical meaning.
In 2018, when marking the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
Kumi Naidoo,
the outgoing Secretary-General of Amnesty International, lamented that
“if the leaders of the world were called upon to sign the UDHR today,
they would be unable and unwilling to put human rights at the centre of
global governance. Such a declaration would be impossible today”.Naidoo
made this comment because Amnesty International in well placed to see
how across the world, fundamental human rights are under attack.
Jails and cemeteries are filling up with human rights activists once more.But
what’s unusual is that it’s not just happening in China, Russia or
North Korea, but in countries that are outwardly democratic.
In India, described as the world’s largest democracy, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, is unapologetic as he propagates a hate-inciting extreme
Hindu nationalism that tramples over Islam and other religions; annexes
whole regions such as Kashmir and sanctions so-called “encounter
killings”. At least five globally respected human rights lawyers are in
prison, and more than 4,000 NGOs have had their licenses revoked.
Giving a lecture in the safety of Oxford University, veteran journalist
Sagarika Ghose
pointed out that the most “basic freedoms are under threat” and that
“soon to be a journalist will be criminalised”. Her warnings are echoed
by esteemed writers such as Arundathi Roy who in a
recent article warns of a “shadow world… creeping up on us in broad daylight”.
In
Turkey, President Recep Erdogan has used the “war on terror” as the
pretext for a massive and globally unprecedented (at least in the
democratic world) clampdown on civil society. According to Turkish
activists 30,000 people are being held in pre-trial detention or have
been convicted (they say 15% of all those in prison are there for
offences of terrorism). A further 70,000 are on trial; 155,000 are being
investigated by the police, but have not yet been prosecuted. Even the
honorary
Chairperson of Amnesty International in Turkey,
Taner Kılıç, is on trial and seems likely to be imprisoned.
In Brazil, indigenous land rights activists, trying to protect the world’s treasure of the Amazon, are being
murdered, adding to the toll of an
estimated three land activists a day who are losing their lives somewhere in the world.
In Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi activists are under attack. And
so the story goes on… from continent to continent, from country to
country. It is hard to imagine that an era that began with the Tiananmen
Square and the fall of the Berlin Wall is ending with new walls going
up all over the world.
In UN-talk what we are witnessing across the globe is politely described as “shrinking
civic space”. They should be using other less euphemistic words: put another way, it’s the water-boarding of democracy.
This
global clampdown on hope is sanctioned by big men with blond mops,
misogynistic sexualities, guns. Truth-manglers such as Mark Zuckerberg
and Elon Musk gently egg it on, as
Sacha Baron Cohen so angrily yet elegantly pointed out recently.
For this Human Rights Day we must continue to stand with all people targeted for giving
expression to the vision and values embodied in the declaration. Every day must be Human Rights Day, as every
person in the world is entitled to the full and indivisible range of
human rights every day of his or her life.Global human rights are not selective in their value or meaning, nor are they
limited to a day or time of year.
Until all people have access to these
human rights we must stand up, advocate for, and insist that more must
be done. Human Rights Day should serve as a reminder to act for those
lacking basic rights each and everyday.
Human Rights Day calls on us all to ‘stand up for someone's rights
today!’ It reminds us what we have achieved over the years to respect,
promote and protect human rights. It also asks to recommit and re-engage
in championing these rights for our shared humanity since whenever and
wherever humanity's values of equality, justice and freedom are
abandoned, we all are at greater risk.
It’s important to acknowledge that human rights, have rarely been gifted to us through benevolent
leaders. Rather, they have been won after long fought battles and
collective struggle. We need to recognize and pay tribute to human rights defenders the world
over, putting their lives on the line for others, our voice must be
their voice. Lets work to achieve a better life for all.
And more importantly, to continue to take a stand for people whose human rights are still not being met across the globe, find a way to use our voices for those who may not have an opportunity to advocate for themselves. On Human Rights Day, let us remind ourselves that all human beings are equal in dignity
& rights. In any civilized society, protection of human rights is
most important. We need to create conditions, where people’s rights are
protected and all can live a life of dignity.
Just two days before the general election, party leaders have been
asked to celebrate international Human Rights Day by pledging to
safeguard the Human Rights Act 1998. A letter organised by the British
Institute of Human Rights and endorsed by more than 100 organisations
including lawyers groups, Liberty and Justice, calls for a commitment
'to protecting universal human rights in the UK'.
The signatories note the Human Rights Act draws on the universal
rights set out in the 71-year old Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
'setting legal standards to protect people across the UK whether they
are in hospitals or care homes, social services or places of detention,
housing or schools'.
https://www.bihr.org.uk/
Following the election, 'many decisions will need to be made about
what sort of country we want to be, going forward, and what relationship
people have with those we place in power'.
It concludes: 'We ask you to stand firm on our hard-won freedoms. We
ask you to stand firm on ensuring that our Human Rights Act remains an
integral part not just of our constitutional arrangements, but also of
people’s everyday lives, enabling us all to live with equal dignity and
respect.'
The Conservatives have been accused of attempting to water down the
Human Rights Act after announcing vague plans to "update" the
legislation in their election manifesto. The 59-page blueprint, launched by Boris Johnson on Sunday, contains a promise to "update the Human Rights Act
and administrative law to ensure that there is a proper balance between
the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective
government".
The pledge comes after the the prime minister vowed to end prosecutions of ex-soldiers accused of murder during the Troubles in Northern Ireland , which would involve amending the act to exclude deaths before the legislation came into force in October 2000.
Tory MPs and members of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist
Party (DUP) have long called for an end to prosecutions of veterans
over killings during the Troubles, in an attempt to protect the armed
forces from vexatious prosecutions.
But such a change to domestic legislation could put the UK at odds with the European Convention on Human Rights, according to legal experts.
Buried on page 48, the 2019
manifesto
contains a single mention of the party’s pledge to “update” the 1998
HRA, which brings the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into
domestic law. It doesn’t specify what an update looks like, or when it
will happen (beyond “after Brexit,” which isn’t much of a clue). The
text is not bold; nor italic. The language is euphemistic and vague,
indicating that the update will “ensure that there is a proper balance
between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and
effective government.” This is not a pledge intended to draw attention.
.We’ve known for years that the Conservatives want
to undermine the Human Rights Act that safeguards our individual
freedoms, and their manifesto confirms it. Remember too that their discredited and racist hostile environment has ruined lives and destroyed people’s trust in the services they need.
As thousands of struggles have proved, human rights are a vital lever in
the quest for equality and social justice. If governments will no longer protect human rights it will be up to us, the people to keep on fighting for them and ensure our human right are always upheld. If you do nothing else, make sure you vote.
Find your local polling station and vote like your rights depend on it.
http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/
