Did we say Human Rights?

The World Human Rights Day (HRD) was observed on 10 December.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, in his statement issued on HRD, specifically noted the remarkable peaceful efforts of individuals like Liu Xiaobo of China, Ahmed Maher of Egypt, Eskinder Nega of Ethiopia, Azimjon Askarov of the Kyrgyz Republic and exhorted governments and individuals alike to strive to fulfill the promise of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

In India, the day was celebrated by organizing the political conferences, meetings, exhibitions, cultural events, debates and many more programs to discuss all the issues of human rights. Several governmental, civil and nongovernmental associations actively take part in the human rights event celebration, each calling upon government and the civil society alike to give full meaning to human rights by observing them in practice.

human rights must be more than mere aspirations, and declarations cannot simply be slogans. Nor are they discretionary, they are fundamental. - See more at: http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/secretary-generals-statement-human-rights-day-2014#sthash.WJVJf4Ss.dpuf

The Secretary General of Commonwealth, Kamalesh Sharma, while stressing upon the relevance and importance of HRD, said that human rights are not mere aspirations and declarations are not mere slogans; nor are they discretionary, they are fundamental.

Across Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific nations, NGOs, organizations and people observed HRD with solemn pledges, many with the hope that their own life will be transformed. How did West Asia observe? While everyone else made speeches and took pledges, West Asia, particularly Israel, made a statement so loud and so precise in a manner that actually exemplifies the need to uphold human rights everywhere:  

On 10 December, Palestinian minister Ziad Abu Ain led a group of people in the West bank village of Turmusaya protesting Israeli occupation and violations.

How do they protest? By planting olive trees.

So what does Israel do? A group of Israeli soldiers pounce on the people planting trees and specifically target the minister by thrashing him black and blue. No shots fired by anyone, no bombs, no tear gas, no water cannon. Just thrashing. [see the full coverage by Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/10/us-mideast-israel-palestinians-idUSKBN0JO10720141210]

What happens to Ziad Abu Ain? He dies.

Now who is this Ziad Abu Ain? He is a minister in the Palestinian government. Incidentally, Palestine, though not having a territory of its own, has been recognized as a country by the UN in 2012. Last week, Sweden became the 135th country in the world to formally recognize Palestine as a nation. And, Ziad Abu Ain was a minister of a country called Palestine.

There is hardly anything else that needs to be said about respecting the sovereign institutions (including individuals who may represent such institutions by virtue of the office that they may occupy) of countries. The recognition and respect that we pay to these symbols form the foundation of international relations and helps us as countries to construct meaningful dialogues with each other on any and every issue that needs deliberation. But if X country shows impudent disrespect for sovereign institutions of other countries, then the world order and peace are at serious peril. In such a climate, talking of human rights is exactly what the Secretary General said: remain a mere slogan.

World Human Rights Day, well, we seem to have a long way to go towards translating good slogans into meaningful action. It is just sixty five years since UDHR has come about. Considering the 460 thousand years of human history, this is not even a wink. Things do take time to become convictions. Our parents spent twenty years average teaching us to abide by truth. At times we do give it a slip. It takes sixty/seventy years in a person's life to actually feel convinced about anything. Some of us will be shaking hands with St Peter without ever having had any conviction at all. It happens. Sad.   

eli settlements in the occupied West Bank village of Turmus'aya. - See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Media.aspx?IsMediaPage=true&LangID=E#sthash.FKu0HvDe.dpuf

Palestinian Minister Ziad Abu Ein after Israeli troops clashed with protesters on 10 December. Ziad Abu Ein died following an assault by an Israeli soldier during an olive-tree planting protest against illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank village of Turmus'aya. - See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Media.aspx?IsMediaPage=true&LangID=E#sthash.FKu0HvDe.dpuf

Typhoon Haiyan

Typhoon Haiyan wrecked devastation in Philippines a week back. More than 10000 feared dead and the body count continues. Thousands have lost their home, stead and bread. Philippines wails.

The net, TV and media are ablaze with stories on location. As we watch, USAID and USAF aircraft offload relief material. Belated though, but much needed. On CNN a Filipino women says ‘it is worse than hell’ and breaks down crying. An elderly person is sobbing, unable to express his grief at the loss of loved ones. In yet another street, we see scores of bodies wrapped in available material, lined up on the street side waiting to be lifted to their burial ground. Some of these may get identified and the desolate surviving relative will get a chance to pay appropriate homage. Yet others will get buried nameless and unmarked. In a few days, for fear of disease and epidemics, the unclaimed bodies may even be burnt or buried away. No one can actually estimate the loss – physical and psychological. Sitting thousands of miles away, we watch helplessly as the trauma unfolds. In a few days, we would have forgotten Philippines as our own life would take over our concerns. The survivors in Philippines on the other hand, will live with their pain and memories that will subside only in their graves.

At this moment of great tragedy, there are quite a few things that all of us, as citizens of this world, can do:

First, pray. May the Good Lord protect these people from further trauma and give them courage to accept their suffering with fortitude.

Second, if you are someone in your respective government who can mobilize relief material, please get involved. Love their neighbor.

Third, if you are a volunteer, this is your moment.

Fourth, if you can find the right agencies on the net, contribute whatever you can.

Philippines needs the world more than ever now. As the UN theme says “IT IS YOUR WORLD”. It is our world.

Thank you for reading. That is actually one prayer said for Philippines. God bless you.    

Mass Rapes in South Kivu: DRC

UN recently observed with concern the rape of 67 women by soldiers in South Kivu, DR Congo. The incident is reported to have occurred on the New Year eve. What a terrible beginning for the victims, who otherwise possibly would have looked forward to a new year in which their lives could have been better.

Crimes against women are perpetrated with impunity across the world, since most legal systems demand exacting standards of evidence and the trauma apart, the victim is made to relive the horror a dozen times during the trial. That is to say in normal societies. In societies torn by internecine wars - mooted for political, racial and other such concerns, the state of victims is worse. For years the international mechanism will debate, legal intervention will come forth only when 'powerful' sympathizers will call for action (moving the security Council to intervene is not at the will of a hapless victim gang-raped in the wilderness of Africa, or is it?) Then the perpetrators will abscond and an international search will be done to apprehend. The trials will commence, and every fair opportunity will be given to the accused to defend himself. At the end of it all, he (or they) will be incarcerated.

Yes, it is a long process and could be exasperating. It is a challenge to international community and the conscience of humanity. But we need to do this. A little more, if possible, to hasten this process and find foolproof mechanisms to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice quickly.

We need to, as people of the world, set aside our parochial concerns and come together for common cause. This is not about moral obligation to fellow beings, it is about our duty to ourselves; about giving our children a world where they can live without fear; about creating a comity of nations committed to human values sans politics!

Let us put our voices, thoughts and pens together for a world that is free of crimes against women and world that is accountable for its actions!   


 

Crimes against women in Cote de Ivoire

“No longer can heads of State, and other actors, be sure that they can commit atrocious violations and get away with it,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in Geneva , announcing that she had written a letter “in the strongest terms” to Laurent Gbagbo, who insists that he won November’s run-off elections despite international recognition of opposition leader Alassane Ouattara as the clear victor.
The Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay's letter to President Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast (Cote De Ivoire) is a wake up call to regimes that use state power to abuse citizens. She was right in observing that eads of State who indulge in such atrocities will no more go unheeded and the International Justice mechanism will render necessary justice.

After the ICTR, rulers every where must keep in mind that ethnic cleansing and crimes against women are monstrosities that the International Community will no more tolerate. Not with standing the monetary or political compulsions, nations must unite in such common cause to eradicate the malaise of innocents being victimized for political ends.

Voices big and small, individually and as nations, must unite to bring strictures on countries that indulge in such practices and justice to the victims of such crimes.