December 10th: Human Rights day
You know what today is, right? I’m not talking about the date, you should know it’s the 10th of December.
Today is Human rights day.
But shouldn’t every day be Human Rights day?
You’re right, it should be.
Human Rights 365. <— That is the slogan that the United Nations is using this year.
Today is the day they have put aside each every year since 1950 to bring attention to human rights in all nations across the world.
Everything from the right to bear arms, the right to practice religion, women’s rights, and freedom of speech, all of it and more is brought into the light today.
But the goal this year is different. They don’t just want to take one day to focus on things like this. The UN is trying to make this a big deal and to get people to pay more attention to what is going on around them.
But it’s not that easy. There are nations around the world that are objecting this rule. And yes, I say rule. The United Nations is attempting to make it mandatory for places high and low to follow these obligations.
But what obligations?
According to ohchr.org, it requires States “to take steps” with their available resources to achieve economic, social and cultural rights. It also requires States to guarantee economic, social and cultural rights without discrimination and to make sure there are equal rights for both men and women.
Sweden has a few choice words on the matter. “…we support the amendments proposed by the United States. We are not here to develop new human rights language, but to reaffirm previous commitments, while implementing these technical regulations…” According to cnet.com, China agrees and so does Algeria.
That’s crazy to think. The world isn’t as nice as you may think it is. Get out, look things up. Educate yourself about the world you live in. Let’s try and move forward, step by step and the only way to do that is to pay attention.