Global Human Rights Under the Scanner: Promise or Paradox

Time of Crisis -A global perspective

A human rights framework alone is lifeless without people willing to stand together and demand justice. The global community is presently navigating through a ‘Decade of Disasters’ including climate change, inflation, lack of resources, poverty, pollution and proliferation of nuclear energy. Global crises, which are accompanied by increased economic, political and social problems, usually lead to a temporary weakening of the mechanisms for the implementation and protection of human rights and freedoms. Such a situation requires the development and implementation of new mechanisms to counter the threats associated with the growing level of violence, discrimination and violation of fundamental human rights.

Human rights violations are often the root causes of conflict and insecurity. The human rights normative framework provides a sound basis for addressing issues of serious concern within or between countries, for conflict prevention when all human rights are protected, respected and fulfilled. Economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs) can be as important as civil and political rights as both drivers and triggers of crisis and conflict.

As the world contemplates the lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 crisis, human rights remind us all how to prevent a recurrence of the challenges that have been exposed by building protection systems and resilience. Today we have still not learned our lessons from human created risks and are only running after power, greed, control and influence.