The 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a good opportunity to talk about its validity
Vienna (OTS) – “This is not about questioning human rights, as we hear again and again from some politicians, including in this country,” says Shoura Zehetner-Hashemi, Managing Director of Amnesty International Austria. Rather, what is needed is a critical examination of this set of rules, which were created by the international community 75 years ago in response to the atrocities of the Second World War and which, then as now, are considered the basis for a just and peaceful world. “But human rights are not static. They are allowed to change – and have done so,” says Zehetner-Hashemi. “Just like the crises and challenges that need to be overcome in our world.”
The climate crisis, ever-increasing social gaps, the media landscape with its rapid developments in the area of social media and the challenges posed by the large migration flows of recent years are just some of the examples to which human rights must respond today. To claim that this large set of rules is unsuitable for this and is therefore no longer valid is the wrong approach, says Zehetner-Hashemi. “There needs to be an open culture of discussion that is based on the basic idea that led to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 75 years ago: namely, respect and protection of the dignity of every individual as the basis for peaceful coexistence.”
“Yes, compliance with human rights regularly presents us with major challenges. “But political solutions at the expense of human rights, such as those currently being developed in connection with the large refugee movements, must be rejected,” said Zehetner-Hashemi. “On the contrary: 75 years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was developed as the basis for a just and peaceful world. This claim is still valid.”
“One of the historic achievements 75 years ago was that human rights apply to everyone, cannot be denied to anyone and are not subject to any conditions,” emphasizes the Amnesty director. “If we now start to dissolve this basic idea and only partially recognize human rights, for example for refugees and asylum seekers, then the door is opened to a system that makes the validity of human rights arbitrary. Nobody can guarantee us that our own rights will not be questioned and restricted next,” she warns.
Questions & Contact:
Press office Amnesty International Austria
Eleonore Rudnay
eleonore.rudnay@amnesty.at