As the adoption of the Universal Declaration is celebrated for the 63rd time, the world reflects on major achievements but more so the enormous amount of work that still needs to be done to make all human rights a reality for all. As people around the world still fight for the recognition of their basic human rights it is a timely occasion to remember those at the forefront in advocating for human rights: human rights defenders, who frequently endanger their lives to demand the promotion and protection of human rights around the world.

Amnesty International Slovenia has developed a tool-kit on creating posters against racism.

One of the many superb examples to jump-start discussions about diversity, equality and how prejudices stand in the way of enjoying them:

On the occasion of the world’s population reaching seven billion, the UN Foundation has put out a timely reminder with seven billion reasons calling for investment in international reproductive health, voluntary family planning to empower women, building healthier families and strengthening communities.

The Washington Post provides an insightful piece on how the data is collected, analyzed and projected.

Two videos of note featuring Senior Australian of the Year, Professor Ron McCallum:

Australian of the Year Ron McCallum

Ron McCallum Qantas Movie

The plurality of media outlets is under scrutiny these days. The UN Committee on the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in its discussion in 1983 of the implications of Article 19 CCPR (Freedom of Opinion) has stated:

“little attention has so far been given to the fact that, because of the development of modern mass media, effective measures are necessary to prevent such control of the media interfering with the right of everyone to freedom of expression,”

One of the Committee’s experts said:

“By this sentence, the Committee managed to come to unite these kinds of worries by careful wording, but what it means is that any kind of concentration, any kind of control of the media, is harmful to the enjoyment of this freedom. Sometimes the Committee acts in a very “superstitious” way. It does not mention things that should be mentioned.”

Now the Committee is working on a new statement, which shall also be more specific on the issue of diversity of ownership:

“States parties should take appropriate action, consistent with the Covenant, to prevent undue media dominance or concentration by privately controlled media groups in monopolistic situations that may be harmful to a diversity of sources and views.”

The WHO has launched the World Report on Disability. As the Guardian reports that “disability is less about health conditions and more about social and economic barriers to inclusion.” ”Aid donors should not be funding projects that are not inclusive to people with disabilities,” Tom Shakespeare, one of the co-authors of the Report is quoted. “Disability must be seen as a development issue, says the report, but like obesity and ageing, it is an issue that transcends the traditional north-south distinctions,” writes the Guardian.

The recent capture of Ratko Mladic in Serbia is, as Geoffrey Robertson writes in The Age, also part of the Nuremberg legacy: that no one can escape their responsibility for a crime, particularly those against humanity. Robertson, whose book “Crimes Against Humanity” is a must-read on international criminal justice goes on to observe:

Focus on this war crime will discomfort those who might have prevented it - especially the UN, which refused to authorise the air strikes that would have stopped Mladic’s advance, and the Dutch government, which insisted on vetoing them to protect its cowardly battalion that was meant to be protecting the town but which immediately surrendered to Mladic and handed over to him the thousands of Muslims who had sought refuge in the UN compound. The moral nadir of UN/NATO ”peacekeeping” where there is no peace to keep is the photograph of Mladic blowing his cigar smoke in the face of the spineless Dutch colonel while in the background those his battalion should have protected were taken off to the killing fields.

Amidst the financial crisis of California, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has ruled that the government must reduce the amount of prisoners, as the overcrowding violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment, reports the NYTimes.

The BBC reports that new census data from India confirms the predictions over the imbalance in the gender ratio caused by female infanticide: eight million girls under the age of eight are “missing” due to a culture, which makes parents dread the birth of a girl due to dowry payments.

The visit of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. is an opportune occasion to return to the “saying sorry” series. Full coverage by the BBC.

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