Important ceremony Blue text = a clickable link. To highlight pictures please click them.At a ceremony in New York, Sunday the 10th of December, Human Rights Day, the Secretary General of the United Nations presented to five individuals or groups a very significant award – the Human Rights Prize. I only saw the announcement in the UN press release on Friday the 15th, too late for last week's blog, so I'm featuring it this week. Inequalities are deepeningAfter some opening preliminaries, Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres said in his presentation speech: 'Inequalities are deepening. Hunger and poverty are rising. Women’s rights are stalling, and in some cases, going into reverse. Civic space and media freedom is being rolled back. New threats are blossoming — from catastrophic climate disasters, to artificial intelligence, which holds the potential for immense possibility, but also for immense peril. 'And age-old hatreds are resurging with a vengeance — from racism, to xenophobia, and religious intolerance. People are being violently targeted solely for their religion, their ethnicity or who they love.' Lights in the darknessThe Secretary General paid tribute to the winners by saying 'But across the world, human rights defenders are lights in the darkness. They are changing lives: fighting, educating, and holding power to account, to make human rights a living, breathing reality. This is deeply dangerous work. ... I pay tribute to each of the recipients of the prize today for their extraordinary work, their humanity and their courage: Julienne Lusenge from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Julio Pereyra from Uruguay; The Amman Center for Human Rights Studies; The Human Rights Center “Viasna”, working in Belarus; and the Global Coalition of civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples, social movements and local communities for “the universal recognition of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment”. I would also like to pay tribute tonight to the thousands of unsung human rights defenders around the world. We see you; we honour you; and we thank you. Leaders of all kinds must take inspiration from you — our prize recipients today —and defend all human rights — political, civil, social, economic, and cultural. Congratulations to you all. And thank you for everything you are doing. Know the winners?From more than 400 nominees, the winners were chosen 'by a Special Committee comprised of five members: the President of the General Assembly; the President of the Economic and Social Council; the President of the Human Rights Council; the Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women; and the Chair of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee.' Probably, many of us do not know very much detail about these winners, as named by the Secretary General, so I'm including the first sentence or two from five short profiles I've taken from the United Nations Human Rights website. If you'd like to read more please click the blue text. 'Viasna is a human rights organization established by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski in 1996 in Belarus. Viasna focuses on offering protection and assistance to victims of political repression. They also conduct human rights education, monitor peaceful assemblies, document abuses and advocate for broader respect for human rights within Belarus.' (Now forced to function from outside the country.) 'Julianne Lusenge was born into a family that championed the value of freedom of expression, Julienne Lusenge developed a profound empathy for women in her village who lacked the ability to raise their voices. Motivated by this, Lusenge established SOFEPADI (Solidarité Féminine pour la Paix et le Développement Intégral) in 2000 with the goal of advancing women's rights, enhancing their participation in political spheres, and fostering peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).' 'The Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS) is a human rights organization based in Amman, Jordan. They were established in 1999 and have had special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2006. Dr. Nizam Assaf, Director of the ACHRS emphasized the organization’s focus on strengthening civil society in the Arab region through education and trainings with a strong focus on human rights and democracy. ' 'Julio Pereyra Sánchez is a human rights activist, who focuses on the rights of the child, persons with disabilities and Indigenous Peoples. After encountering an out-of-school 6-year old child with disabilities, Sánchez is triggered to advocate for human rights and initiate “Caminos de Tiza” – a therapeutic-pedagogical approach tailored to Indigenous communities, rural colonies, and marginalized neighborhoods. In the last five years, he has traveled throughout Latin America educating communities about primary health care as well as sexual and reproductive health rights.' 'Global Coalition of civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples, social movements and local communities for “the universal recognition of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a diverse group of over 1350 organizations from 75 countries across the world. Their uniting mission is to recognize and uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. With only four years’ operating since their establishment in 2020, the Coalition has made a huge impact in advocating for the universal right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. This right was recognized by the Human Rights Council in 2021 and the General Assembly in 2022, thanks to the Coalition’s hard work.' New to me Much of what I've quoted today is new to me. I did not know, or had forgotten, that the UN gave this non-monetary Human Rights Prize Award every five years. Essentially individual winners or the people in winning groups are being recognised for their persistence and bravery. Persistence for, instance, in standing for fair and equal rights for women to reverse traditional practices and values of male superiority, as in the case of Julianne Lusenge's group, SOFEPADI. Bravery in facing, for example imprisonment and exile, as in the case of members of Viasna in Belarus. If you have also come to know some new information and, more importantly, some actions and values to admire I'll be well pleased. □ John McInnes Friday 22 December 2023 ##########
0 Comments
|
Welcome
|