Did you know that countries differ considerably in their respect for and political recognition of human rights?
Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December – the day on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a response to World War II and the human rights violations which it caused. The declaration was drafted with the ambition to protect every individual’s rights.
The idea of human rights is as simple as it is powerful: that people have a right to be treated with dignity. Human rights are inherent in all human beings, whatever their nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language or any other status. Every individual is entitled to enjoy human rights without discrimination. Human rights are the minimum standards that are necessary for all people to live with dignity, freedom, equality, justice, and peace. Every person has these rights simply because they are human beings - and they cannot be taken away.
The UDHR – one of the founding documents of international human rights law – is considered to be binding on all states.
This year’s Human Rights Day slogan is “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All” and the call to action is #StandUp4HumanRights.
Did you know that the first time in history a statement approaching universal human rights had been expressed in 1776 - the signing of the Virginia Declaration of Rights? The opening section of the declaration reads: “That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights.” This moral and legal idea reappeared in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen from 1789, article 1 of which states: “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.”
There are several Institutions which work is to support, through national, sub-regional, regional and international co-operation, the establishment, strengthening and development of national human rights institutions in order to enable them to more effectively undertake their mandate of human rights monitoring, promotion, protection and advocacy.
For example, Network of African National Human Rights Institutions.
There are several indicators and tools for measuring progress of human rights such as:
etc.
Freedom in the World is a yearly survey and report by Freedom House that measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation.
Human rights in Namibia are currently recognised and protected by the Namibian constitution formed in 1990.
International Human Rights Day is a public holiday in Namibia. It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.
Namibia had been labelled as "Free" by Freedom House and has Flawed democracies (Democracy Index is 6.31 - 6.52).
Global Freedom Score - 77/100 in 2022.
Ranked 73/194 on the Freedom of the World list (2021).
In Ukraine, as part of the Soviet Union (1922 - 1991), all human rights were severely limited. Freedom of speech was suppressed and dissent was punished. Independent political activities were not tolerated, whether these involved participation in free labor unions, private corporations, independent churches or opposition political parties. The freedom of movement within and especially outside the country was limited.
In 1991 Ukraine declared independence.
Human rights in Ukraine are currently recognised and protected by the Ukrainian constitution formed in 1996.
Ukraine had been labelled as "Free" by Freedom House in 2009. In their report they stated: "Ukraine has one of the most vibrant civil societies in the region".
After russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014 the Freedom House labelled Ukraine as "Partly Free".
In Ukraine, the Human Rights Day is still does not considered a State holiday but Ukraine is guided by this document in recognizing the human person, his or her rights and freedoms the core value and the basis of state policy. The proof of this is the development and approval in 2015 – for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine – of the National Human Rights Strategy and the corresponding Action Plan, with the wide participation of government institutions, civil society and international organizations.
But still Ukraine has Hybrid regime (Democracy Index is 5.69 - 5.94 for the last 5 years).
Global Freedom Score - 61/100 in 2022 (improving their position progressively – 59/100 in 2021).
Ranked 108/194 on the Freedom of the World list (2021).
South Africa is a constitutional democracy. Human rights in South Africa are protected under the constitution. The Human Rights Commission is mandated by the South African Constitution and the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994, to monitor, both pro-actively and by way of complaints brought before it, violations of human rights and seeking redress for such violations.
South Africa is rated Free in Freedom in the World.
South Africa had been labelled as "Free" by Freedom House and has Flawed democracies (Democracy Index is 7.05 – 7.24).
Global Freedom Score - 73/100 in 2022.
Ranked 69/194 on the Freedom of the World list (2021).
The russian sfsr emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as the independent russian federation in 1991. A new constitution was adopted, and russia has since been governed as a federal semi-presidential republic. Since 2000, russia's political system has been dominated by vladimir putin, under whom the country has experienced democratic backsliding and a shift towards authoritarianism.
Russia is rated "Not Free" in Freedom in the World for many years and has Authoritarian regime (Democracy Index is 2.94 - 3.24).
Global Freedom Score - 19/100 in 2022 (worsening its position – 21/100 in 2021).
Ranked 165/194 on the Freedom of the World list (2021).
The 2022 edition of the World Press Freedom Index, which assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories, highlights the disastrous effects of news and information chaos – the effects of a globalised and unregulated online information space that encourages fake news and propaganda.
The invasion of Ukraine (106th) by russia (155th) at the end of February reflects this process, as the physical conflict was preceded by a propaganda war.
Since 2002 till 2022,
Namibia has moved up in the ranking from 31st to 18th place (having risen 13 stages).
South Africa's position has worsened by 9 stages, from 26 to 35.
Ukraine has moved up from 112th to 106th (having risen 6 stages – not very easy after 70 years of depression).
Russia has moved down from 121st to 155th (having fallen down 34(!) stages and significantly worsened its position since February 2022, Internet freedom in russia reached an all-time low following the government’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and has the largest declines in its internet freedom score all over the world).
Civil and political rights concern issues such as freedom of expression, religion and assembly, as well as the right to life and freedom from torture and ill-treatment. Social, economic and cultural rights on the other hand, include, for instance, the right to health, work and education. However, all human rights are interlinked, indivisible and interdependent – as the fulfilment of any one right depends on the fulfilment of the others.
But, as a matter of fact, the words “russia” and “Human rights” cannot be placed on the same footing at all.
Since 1991 Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have recorded russian war crimes in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, Ukraine (2014-2021), Central African Republic, Mali. These have included murder, torture, terrorism, deportation or forced transfer, abduction, looting, unlawful confinement, unlawful airstrikes or attacks against civilian objects, and rape (crimes against humanity, and crime of genocide).
During the 2022 russian invasion of Ukraine numerous acts of torture of civilians and numerous acts of torture of prisoners of war by russian forces have been documented, including rape and sexual violence against men, women, and children by russian forces.
Did you know that if a Ukrainian citizen who is now in the territory temporarily occupied by russia refuses to receive a russian passport, he or she is put to various tortures and at the same time prohibiting residents to leave this territory?
And at this point in time, the words "Human" and "russian" cannot be considered together at all!
Russian forces’ widespread and repeated targeting of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure appears primarily designed to instill terror among the population in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said. Numerous missile and drone attacks from October till these days have deprived millions of civilians of at least temporary access to electricity, water, heat, and related vital services ahead of the cold winter months.
Russian politicians, lawmakers, other commentators on russian state media and even usual citizens of russia widely applauded the prospect of Ukrainian civilians being left without heat and water in winter. One member of parliament stated that ordinary people should “rot and freeze”, another said the strikes were necessary to destroy the Ukrainian state’s capacity to survive etc.
Meanwhile the wives/mothers/sisters of russian soldiers say "It's a good you killed that child, your son/nephew/grandson wanted boots/T-shirt/toys etc. that you took from him."
And the world has already heard a lot about stolen dog kennels and toilets for their sanitary latrines (as you probably know 30% of russians use pit latrines, in rural areas it is 70%, and 10% of the russian population do not have any sewage system at all).
At the same time, Russian commanders are leaving their wounded soldiers on the battlefield without providing them any medical care.
And by the way, it is also forbidden in russia to talk about this and the ill-supply of soldiers - as well as talking about the war and using the word "war", it is a criminal offence, even if you are talking to your relatives or send someone private message about it.
Russia’s recent adoption of a punitive “fake war news” law is an alarming move by the government to gag and blindfold an entire population, UN human rights experts said.
This year Global freedom faces a dire threat according Freedom House. Around the world, the enemies of liberal democracy—a form of self-government in which human rights are recognized and every individual is entitled to equal treatment under law—are accelerating their attacks.
Today we are witnessing blatant violations of human rights, sometimes exceeding the brutality of World War II.
Whenever and wherever humanity's values are abandoned, we all are at greater risk. The solutions to today’s greatest crises are rooted in human rights.
Rights violations reverberate across borders and across generations. These can be, must be, collectively overcome.
We need to stand up for our rights and those of others.
We all have a role to play.
For us as individuals, it means standing up, because that is our right. And when we cannot do it alone, we must do it together, and call on the people and institutions obligated to fulfil rights and provide protections. We must remember that we must advocate for the rights of others, just as we labor for our own.
One of the most important reminders of Human Rights Day is that we must never take human rights for granted.
“Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual; you have an obligation to be one. You cannot make any useful contribution in life unless you do this. The world of the future is in our making. Tomorrow is now.” - Eleanor Roosevelt
What are human rights to you?
Do you agree that our kids’ tomorrow depends directly on respect for human rights today?
Even though not perfect, RSA, Namibia and Ukraine are certainly by far better than a totalitarian run state.
extremely interesting article😁