UNITED NATIONS, Dec 11 (APP): With authoritarianism rising, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for promoting and respecting human rights “every day, for everyone, everywhere” to build peace and dignity for all.
“Civic space is shrinking and the media is under attack from all sides. Gender equality remains a distant dream and women’s reproductive rights are being rolled back,” the UN chief said in a message to mark Human Rights day.
Noting that the world was losing its way, he said: “Conflicts are raging. Poverty and hunger are increasing. Inequalities are deepening. The climate crisis is a human rights crisis that is hitting the most vulnerable hardest.”
“Today,” the UN chief said, “it is more important than ever to promote and respect all human rights — social, cultural, economic, civil and political — which protect us all. The Universal Declaration shows the way to common values and approaches that can help resolve tensions and create the security and stability our world craves.”
“As we work to update global frameworks and make them more effective in the twenty-first century, human rights must have a unique and central role. I call on Member States to use this seventy-fifth anniversary, and the Summit of the Future next year, to strengthen their commitment to the timeless values of the Universal Declaration.”
Meanwhile, Ghulam Nabi Fai, a prominent Kashmiri leader, highlighted the grave human rights violations over the years by Indian occupation forces in Jammu and Kashmir, and called on the United Nations to use its influence in putting an end to those abuses.
“Too often, the international community closes its eyes to the brutal reality of Kashmir because of India’s hegemony in South Asia and its potentially attractive consumer market,” said Fai, who is the chairman of World Forum for Peace & Justice, in a statement in connection with the international day.
“As a consequence, the moral suasion that could jolt India into recognizing its international law obligation to accede to self-determination in Kashmir is blunted,” he said.
“The world body and saner elements in American policy agencies should take a leaf out of the warning of Arundhati Roy, the well-known Indian author: ‘Kashmir is the real theatre of unspeakable violence and moral corrosion that can spin us into violence and nuclear war at any moment. To prevent that from happening, the conflict in Kashmir has to be addressed and resolved.”
