Human Rights Day: Birthright or Exclusive Prerogatives?

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Freedom from Fear could be said to sum up the whole philosophy of human rights.’
Dag Hammarskjold

In a common sense, one could come to the conclusion that human rights are simply those boons that are inherent to us for being born a human; and that is exactly what it is.

The right to life and liberty, right to education, right to recognition as a person before the law, right to freedom of thought, right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to free choice of employment are simply few of the luxuries we are entitled to as humans.

These are not divided by colour, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, language, beliefs or any such other superficial parameters, and it should not be in the power of a particular group of privileged people with discriminatory views to exercise the ability of granting some with their birthrights while denying others of theirs.

Unfortunately, words that continue to add into our vocabulary including racism, sexism, bigotry, homophobia and xenophobia suggest otherwise, indicating the deeply structured discrimination and the non-equal privilege of enjoying each person’s rights.

As the former South African president and renowned human rights activist, Nelson Mandela stated,

“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity”

Ensuring the protection of human rights as a whole as well as on the individual level is vital for ensuring that every human being can live a fulfilling and worthy life with dignity. This is also crucial for the development of human culture and civilization in a progressive manner in the positive direction.

Despite this, continuous human right violations have continued to take place from years before till to date.

FILE – Riot police detain a demonstrator during a protest against mobilization in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion against Ukraine expecting a lightening victory, the war continues, affecting not just Ukraine but also exacerbating death and tension in Russia among its own citizens. (AP Photo, File)

UN press reports as recent as 2023 highlight various such instances taking place across numerous countries including Ethiopia, Ukraine, Burundi, Belarus and the Russian Federation. Amongst these, the human right violation cases currently taking place amidst the civil wars in the countries Palestine, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen have specially provoked a strong response from the global community.

In order to resolve these issues and create an equal platform for each and every human, it is necessary to understand the root causes of these larger scale issues. Majorly, the reasons for such discrimination leading to rights violation can be traced towards individual biases backed by their social background and beliefs. Thus, it is very important to work on this issue in a global scale as well as on an individual level.

For this purpose, numerous actions have been taken including establishment of global agencies responsible for the protection of human rights of all global citizens. Some of such institutions are the United Nations, Amnesty International, Global Human Rights Defence as well as National Human Rights institutions.

A significant step towards progress in this direction was the establishment of Universal Human Rights Declaration in 1948. This provided an outline and guide on the rights of any human, an entitlement by birth, leading to development of better protocols and steps for the protection of human rights.

However, despite a lapse of more than 70 years since its establishment, violations against human rights continue to take place all over the world, even till today. The World Human Rights Day, observed on the 10th of December, provides each and every individual with an opportunity to renew this pledge and to give their support for the protection of human rights of all individuals.

Thus, this Human Rights Day, let us take up this opportunity and do what is in our power to ensure a life of dignity and peace for all individuals, leading to a better future for one and all.

Written by: Mokshavi Gunasekera

References
https://press.un.org/en/2023/gashc4391.doc.htm
https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/human-rights
https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/english

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