Recover and Stand Up

Share

“Silence never won rights. They are not handed down from above; they are forced by pressures from below”  – Roger Nosh Baldwin

We, humans, are born free. We are awarded equal rights. But still, It is questionable whether this equality exists and the dignity persists among mankind.

Human rights are intrinsic to all humans, and those include the right to life and liberty, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Every human being is privileged with them irrespective of race, gender, nationality, language, ethnicity, religion, or any other condition.

United Nations created a significant body of human rights law; a universal and internationally protected code to which all nations the world can endorse and all people can set hearts on. Thereby, the UN defined a wide range of universally accepted rights, including civil, economic, cultural, social, and political rights. In addition, a system to nurture and protect these rights was also made. This is one of the greatest achievements to persuade the upliftment of human living standards.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a landmark in the history of human rights as this document showcases the absolute rights which all of us are entitled to as human beings. This was drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world and is available in more than 500 languages. Its declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948, in Paris, by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) as a general standard of achievements for all people and all nations. Therefore, Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December in commemoration of the day on which fundamental human rights are set to be universally protected.

This year’s Human Rights Day theme is related to the COVID-19 pandemic as it is one of the worst ongoing circumstances experienced by mankind. Focusing on the need to recover and restore is of vital importance, by ensuring human rights. Hence, the theme for Human Rights Day 2020 is “Recover better- Stand up for Human Rights”.

Without giving importance to human dignity, we cannot wish to drive sustainable development. SDGs and Human Rights are mutually interrelated as SDGs are driven by improvements on human rights and Human Rights are driven by progress on SDGs. Hence, the intention is to reach common goals in health, social, economic, and many other sectors by creating equal opportunities for all,  and address the issues raised and exploited by COVID-19. It is mandatory to apply human rights standards to manipulate deep-set inequalities and discrimination. Today is the best day to restate the significance of human rights in re-building the expected new normal world, the need for global harmony and shared humanity, by providing possible and inspirational examples.

As COVID-19 crisis has created many socio-economical issues such as deepening of poverty, rising of discrimination and inequalities, and leaving cracks in the process of human rights advancement and protection. These need to be fully addressed as we fully recover and build back a resilient and sustainable world.

References: 

Image Courtesies:

 
Tagged : / /