Eleanor Roosevelt holds up a copy of 'The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.' (Photo credit: ... [+]
December 10 marked the United Nations Human Rights Day, a day designed by the U.N. to commemorate the U.N. General Assembly adopting, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the UDHR). The UDHR is a milestone human rights declaration affirming human dignity and the inalienable rights of everyone. The UDHR inspired other international treaties, constitutions and human rights laws worldwide. It also continues to be the most translated international legal document in the world.
The UDHR was a direct response to the Nazi atrocities that soaked the soil with blood across Europe and beyond. The historical document is a direct affirmation that the human rights identified in the UDHR are the rights of everyone everywhere and cannot be curtailed by dictatorships spreading propaganda and ordering the annihilation of people they deem as not worthy of protection. The UDHR must be celebrated and implemented to ensure that the universal human rights it affirms are truly universal. Unfortunately, too often, the UDHR and the human rights it affirms are being rejected as a “Western product.” This forgetting the drafters of the document, representing all parts of the world, who shaped the document making sure that it is inclusive.
Recent years have shown the growing disregard for human rights globally. This is true across so many conflicts raging on right now, whether Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza conflict, the situation in Sudan and especially Darfur, but also post-conflict situations. However, human rights violations are also common outside of these extreme cases affecting individuals and whole groups, for example, minority communities. Indeed, minority rights continue to be one of the most neglected issues globally with members of minority communities being subjected to discrimination, stigmatization, harassment and persecution. Whether the Hazara in Afghanistan, the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Yazidis in Iraq, the Uyghurs in China, Tigrayans in Ethiopia, and the list goes on - the individuals are not afforded their rights as guaranteed by the UDHR and subsequent treaties.
As the UDHR marks the 75th anniversary of its adoption, the United Nations emphasize that “As the world faces challenges new and ongoing – pandemics, conflicts, exploding inequalities, morally bankrupt global financial system, racism, climate change – the values, and rights enshrined in the UDHR provide guideposts for our collective actions that do not leave anyone behind.” However, it further adds that “the promise of the UDHR, of dignity and equality in rights, has been under a sustained assault in recent years.”
In response to the challenges, the United Nations launched the Human Rights 75 initiative which seeks to revive action towards greater knowledge of the universality of the UDHR and the activism associated with it.
The initiative includes three main streams: promoting universality, forging the future, and supporting engagement. As the United Nations explains, “promoting universality honors diversity, strengths, and achievements of the many communities striving to address today’s global challenges. It reminds us that human rights are non-negotiable and we reclaim it as a foundation on which to find solutions to our common challenges. Forging the future seeks to harness the potential of the latest breakthroughs through all means, including technology, and anticipate the challenges that will benefit from their application. Supporting engagement will work with Member States and all the relevant actors to build a positive force for change with trust in the human rights architecture, faith in its promise, and resources to apply the tools that are necessary to ensure rights are upheld.”
In addition, during the high-level event on December 11 and 12, 2023, States announced global pledges and ideas for a vision for the future of human rights. However, these pledges mean nothing if they are not implemented and this is in addition to the existing obligations flowing from the UDHR and other treaties.
While some progress may have been made over the last 75 years, the progress is too slow to ensure a meaningful change for individuals and communities, and change is urgently needed. Considering the dire situation globally, we cannot wait more decades to see a small step forward. The change must be significant and it must be now. This change will be achieved only if there is political will to see the change through. Yet too often the political will is married with political interests - and political interests that define where and when action will be taken and which situations will remain ignored. This is the ultimate denial of human rights of everyone everywhere as intended by the UDHR and one that is impossible to solve - unless we find more effective means to hold States accountable for their acts and failures. Accountability is the only way forward.
