Thailand has had a long commitment to human rights.
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This year’s Human Rights Day is devoted to the launch of a year-long campaign for the 50th anniversary of the two International Covenants on Human Rights.
This year’s campaign revolves around four themes – freedom from fear, freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom from want – remain relevant today, 67 years after the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Human rights are indivisible and inter-dependent.
Africa Office, joins Ghanaians and the global community to celebrate the worldwide Human Rights Day on the theme “Our Rights, Our Freedoms Always”. In 1948, it was one of the first Asian countries to endorse the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to date the government has ratified seven of the nine core global human rights treaties. “As a country, we must ensure that our most vulnerable and underrepresented populations are protected, and that all citizens are treated with respect and dignity”, concluded May. In country in addition to inserting worldwide provisions in the constitution for protection of human rights, the parliament enacted the National Human Rights Protection Act 1993 which provides different mechanisms like the National, State level human rights commissions and also the District level human rights courts for protection and preservation of human rights. I am proud to note that His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait, emphasised the commitment of his Government to sustainable development in his address to the United Nations summit.
Globally, many people are still unaware of the existence of the International Bill of Human Rights. The same imperative of fundamental freedoms to live in a low-carbon and resilient environment is at the heart of the negotiation process this week in Paris at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Children were most likely to name the right to education as a basic human right.
Let us, however, not forget the origins of the worldwide human rights framework – forged in the experiences of the Second World War in recognition that human rights underpin stability, security, justice and prosperity – and the issues ultimately at stake, such as: extrajudicial executions; disappearances; sham trials; torture; imprisonment for peacefully exercising rights; forced religious conversion; persecution and discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, ethnicity and/or sexual orientation; and, unfettered corruption.
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The new Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, which the European Union adopted last July, places equal importance on all those rights and engages, through concrete actions, to promote them and ensure their fulfilment for all.
