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International Human Rights Day, December 10, has come and gone. It could have been just another day on the calendar. However, it is not. This is the day in which in 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Human rights in all their facets need to be observed as they ensure human dignity and enable citizens to access all their needs in a fair and equitable manner.
The 10 basic rights enshrined in the International Bill of Rights are: the right to equality and freedom from discrimination, the right to life, liberty, and personal security, the right to freedom from torture and degrading treatment, the right to equality before the law, the right to a fair trial, the right to privacy, the right to freedom of belief and religion and the right to freedom of opinion.
These form the basis upon which we build, and enjoy other ancillary rights. This year’s commemoration runs under the theme, ‘Recover Better – Stand Up for Human Rights’. This speaks to the scourge of Covid-19 that has ravaged the globe and worsened rampant inequalities while at the same time opening room for restrictive measures that impinge on human rights by authorities in some parts of the world.
The theme enjoins citizens to picture a post-Covid-19 scenario, where every citizen shall not be discriminated against on the basis of their Covid-19 results, their social status, race or creed. Whenever there is a crisis of the magnitude of Covid-19, it is usually the vulnerable and poor that bear the brunt of the crisis, with additional pain of human rights violations.
We have already seen how the powerful have abused access to resources meant for Covid-19 relief to enrich themselves at the expense of the sick and the poor that require the help the most. This is a human rights issue, as everyone is entitled to good health.
We have also seen cases of domestic violence in the home skyrocketing during lockdown in the country, with mostly women and children being at the receiving end. The tenth of December also marked the last day of the 16 days of activism against gender based violence, reminding us all that women’s and children’s rights are also human rights, hence deserving of respect like any other.
As we learn to live amid the Covid-19 onslaught, we need to adjust the way we treat others and accommodate each other without any discriminatory practice.
Already, a new form of discrimination based on economic might is afoot as well-to-do nations have rolled out massive vaccinations against Covid-19, while much of the Third World grapples with the infection with no hope of a vaccine in sight anytime soon due to the cost and availability from the source countries that are yet to produce enough for their populace.
It is also against this background that we feel every life counts, hence the call to stand up for human rights in the face of Covid-19. A delay in recovery from Covid-19 will translate to prolonged economic depression, worsening poverty among the poorest around the world.
Online Reporter