75 years of human rights
2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights is the fundamental foundation of society and the state. Human rights apply to all people and to each and every individual. They secure basic needs that everyone has: protection from violence, social security, food, clothing, medical care, freedom of opinion and religion, work, participation and political voice, and much more. Unfortunately, these rights are trampled underfoot in many places.
"If the human rights of one group are disregarded - e.g. people on the run or people with disabilities - then the human rights of all are at risk," says Diakonie Director Maria Katharina Moser on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Convention on Human Rights.
The demands of various human rights NGOs are different, but what they have in common is that they campaign against human rights violations worldwide.
Call for a human rights-based world climate conference
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said: "Inaction is not an option when our climate is warming at an unprecedented rate and the rights of billions of people are at stake. Leaders at COP28 must stand up to the fossil fuel industry lobbyists and steer us away from the collision course that is leading us to an even deeper climate and human rights catastrophe. The only sure way to avert this catastrophe is for countries at COP28 to agree on a rapid phase-out of fossil fuel production and use, help those most affected by climate change to cope with the loss and damage, and accelerate a transition to renewable energy.
A human rights-based COP28 requires the United Arab Emirates, which has an extremely poor human rights record, to ensure the full, free and fair participation of civil society. We call on all participants to urge the United Arab Emirates to make meaningful human rights reforms."
Increasing pressure and attacks
"Civil society organizations in countries of the Global South are increasingly reporting pressure from authoritarian governments or companies. Human rights defenders and climate and environmental activists are particularly affected. Access to financial support is being made more difficult for them, and attacks are now a sad daily occurrence: since 2015, the Business & Human Rights Resource Center has registered almost 4,700 attacks worldwide, including as many as 900 murders," reports Lukas Wank, Managing Director of the Global Responsibility Working Group, with concern.
EU supply chain law as an opportunity for better conditions
Human rights violations are still widespread in 2023, particularly along global value chains. From T-shirts to electric cars: the risk of forced labor exists along the value chains of numerous products. The EU Supply Chain Act has the potential to combat these abuses, but the perspective of those affected must be at the center of this. This also applies to the planned regulation to ban the import of products from forced labor. This is aimed at all companies that manufacture products using forced labor and place them on the market in the EU, says the Network for Social Responsibility NeSoVe , which is part of the "Working Group on Raw Materials".
In this regard, Wank says: "For example, we appeal to the Austrian Federal Government to push strongly for an effective EU supply chain law during the final days of negotiations. Only if all companies and the financial sector are obliged to respect human rights and environmental standards worldwide will this pave the way for genuine sustainable development."
The right to decent working conditions and fair payment for work and harvest yields as fundamental human rights are at the heart of our work. Only in this way can families achieve a living household income and a decent life
," says FAIRTRADE Austria Managing Director Hartwig Kirner.
Further link:
Here you can find all rights at a glance.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (PDF)
