As citizens of the United States, we have seen our share of cruelty and hate. Regardless of what we go through, each of us has a responsibility to do better. December is Universal Human Rights Month, reminding us that the United Nations General Assembly outlined basic rights and fundamental freedoms for every human being. It’s also a time to reflect on the way we treat others and to do what we can in the fight for equality, especially in a time when topics such as systemic racism are widely being discussed.
After World War II, the General Assembly of the United Nations outlined basic rights that all human beings should have. On December 10, 1948, they created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) — a document that declared those basic human rights would be protected universally, making the UDHR and its message to protect freedom for all people accessible to many communities.
The first article states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
The Universal Month of Human Rights’ goal is to acknowledge people of all different religions, cultures, races, as well as beliefs. We are all people who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, these words on paper are not always held up in action.
All over the world, there are groups fighting for their inalienable rights. Over the summer, Iran’s Morality Police unexpectedly reappeared in several Iranian cities. They had been withdrawn after the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in police custody in September 2022, which led to weeks of widespread protests and demonstrations. Now, they have the audacity to say that they will be taking a “softer approach.” A new law would specify the consequences for women not wearing the hijab. But it’s the regime’s fixation with women’s modesty that seems more likely to reignite the protests.
The Israel-Hamas war has inflicted unspeakable horrors, with a particularly devastating impact on women and a rising toll of sexual attacks. Amongst the destruction of homes, schools, and hospitals, and the killing of civilians, there has been disproportionate suffering of women and children. The images we see on social media only paint a surface level picture of what is happening. Israel has executed a targeted assault on the very heart of Palestinian society, which are mothers, daughters, and sisters.
More than 16,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in the conflict; over half are women and children. The situation is particularly terrible for about 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, who are confronted with the reality of childbirth under the most awful conditions — in makeshift shelters, within rubble, or in overwhelmed health care facilities where there is the risk of infection.
Audre Lorde once said, “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” Over forty years later, her words are still poignant and relevant.
The hard truth is that human rights laws have failed to accomplish their objectives. The weaknesses seem to undermine the laws, while there is not much evidence that human rights treaties, on the whole, have really improved the well-being of people. The reason is that human rights have never been universally applied in the way that people hoped for; the idea that they could be forced upon countries as a matter of law was misguided from the very beginning.
The human rights movement shares something in common with economic development, which has tried and failed to eradicate poverty. Top-down solutions for developing countries just don’t work. But where development economists have modified their approach to adjust from the bottom up, the human rights movement has yet to acknowledge where it has failed. After looking at the charter, it never gave the General Assembly the power to make international law. Additionally, the rights were described in vague terms that could be interpreted in many different ways. We’ve seen this time and time again with civil rights, voting rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQIA+ rights.
Human history has a way of saying one thing, yet doing another. The history books continue to teach that slavery ended in the United States with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. However, there were many who ignored the law and continued the institution of slavery. It wasn’t until June 19, 1865 — what we now refer to as Juneteenth — that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the war had been won and slavery must come to an end.
We must stay mindful that the application of equal justice has to be intentional, and as citizens, we have to act with purpose. December is a busy month, and it is easy to bypass what people are going through in other parts of the world. So, while the season is a great time to celebrate and spend time with loved ones, it is also the perfect time to research a human rights movement you feel led to support; to remember that we are not all free. It’s time to wrap up the year resolving to do what we say, in the name of equity for us all.
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