MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 29th 2024 - 05:50 UTC

 

 

Human Rights Day should be extended to every day of the year, says UN

Thursday, December 11th 2014 - 11:23 UTC
Full article 3 comments
“Violations of human rights are more than personal tragedies,” Mr. Ban said. “They are alarm bells that may warn of a much bigger crisis. “Violations of human rights are more than personal tragedies,” Mr. Ban said. “They are alarm bells that may warn of a much bigger crisis.
Human rights are the inalienable entitlements of all people, at all times and everywhere, 365 days a year,” affirmed Mr. Zeid. Human rights are the inalienable entitlements of all people, at all times and everywhere, 365 days a year,” affirmed Mr. Zeid.

The universal reach of human rights should not be restricted to one day alone but extended to every day of the year, top United Nations officials declared on Wednesday, 10 December, as they marked Human Rights Day – an annual UN-backed event commemorating the date on which the General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

 Spearheaded by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), this year's observance – celebrated under the banner of Human Rights 365 – encompasses the idea that “every day is Human Rights Day” and that “each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights.”

“On Human Rights Day we speak out,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proclaimed in his message. “We declare that human rights are for all of us, all the time: whoever we are and wherever we are from; no matter our class, our opinions, our sexual orientation.”

“Violations of human rights are more than personal tragedies,” Mr. Ban continued. “They are alarm bells that may warn of a much bigger crisis.

The Secretary-General explained that as a result of those “alarms,” his Human Rights Up Front campaign – launched in 2013 – sought to anticipate violations before they degenerate into mass atrocities or war crimes while advancing the struggle against injustice, intolerance and extremism.

The initiative includes training UN staff on the world body's core purpose of promoting respect for human rights; providing Member States with the information needed to respond to human rights violations; and ensuring that UN personnel around the world are more attuned to situations where there is a risk of serious human rights abuses and are equipped for the responsibilities that such potential crises entail.

The strategy also includes achieving more Organizational coherence by strengthening engagement with the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council and providing earlier and more streamlined support to teams on the ground before a crisis emerges; and better organization of human rights staff so that they can identify risks of serious violations of human rights that could lead to atrocities.

Finally, underpinning all these activities will be better information management on threats and risks to populations for planning operational activities and for sharing with Member States.

In his statement issued for the Day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, echoed Mr. Ban's appeal and underscored the power of the Universal Declaration to “change the world.”

“Human rights are not country-specific. They are not a reward for good behavior or particular to a certain era or social group. They are the inalienable entitlements of all people, at all times and everywhere, 365 days a year,” affirmed Mr. Zeid.

As part of its celebration of the Day, the OHCHR has launched a social media campaign encouraging the public to explain on a six-second Vine post why year-round human rights matter. The Vine videos will then be collected and published together on OHCHR's Storify account.

“The UN Human Rights Office stands with the millions of people around the world whose voices are denied,” Mr. Zeid continued, as he called on the public to join OHCHR “via social media or in person.”

“Together, we must demand what should be guaranteed: our human rights, universal, indivisible, inalienable, for everyone, 365 days a year.”

Categories: Politics, International.

Top Comments

Disclaimer & comment rules
  • ChrisR

    Human rights in SA?

    Don't make me laugh.

    'No Money Pepe' ruling us as if he were the King.

    TMBOA deciding the Falklanders have NO human rights.

    MADuro locking up a genuine opposition party member for 'sedition'.

    The Cowpat altering the constitution so he can be dictator for life or until somebody murders him.

    Correa still whining like a little child how his drug dealing gangster father was not breaking the law selling drugs, pity he died in jail, they should have hung the bastard, together with his bastard son.

    And of course the shining light in human rights: Cuba. Hopefully, both lights will go out in the next few years. Who will be the boss then, though? Don't worry; it will be another commie bastard with both hands out for 'help'.

    Dec 11th, 2014 - 12:05 pm 0
  • Briton

    Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
    this guys been out in the sun to long..

    Dec 11th, 2014 - 01:24 pm 0
  • Conqueror

    Here's a thought. UN ''peacekeepers', authorised to shoot. One standing behind every argie and spanish politician. Intelligent peacekeepers able to detect an infringement of human rights. And putting a bullet through the head of the criminal. The argie and spanish governments would be gone in days, possibly hours. And the UN wants to 'break down the high walls of corruption' as well. Would it not be an idea to break down UN corruption first? The C-24 Decolonisation Committee is corrupt. THREE consecutive Ecuadorian chairpersons? A committee composed of bigoted individuals with their own agendas? Where are the members from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Fiji, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland? Where is the advice from this committee on how to be removed from the list? And just what right does a UN committee have to pontificate on territories that aren't UN members? Shouldn't they be able to speak directly to the General Assembly and/or Security Council? UN members have rights. What rights do these countries have to present their case properly, even if they had to, instead of having their case filtered through a corrupt, biased committee?

    Dec 11th, 2014 - 03:10 pm 0
Read all comments

Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!