Defend the Rights of All! One Humanity, One Struggle!

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Defend the Rights of All! One Humanity, One Struggle!

On International Human Rights Day 2008, After 60 Years..

Action, Not Words

Gaza: Silence Is Not an Option

December 10 is International Human Rights Day, marking the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The modern conception of rights can only be that rights belong to human beings by virtue of being human. Opposed to this is the conception of the monopolies and the governments which serve their interests, in which privileges are granted to human beings only if they agree to the government’s definition of "universal values" which are distinguished, not by being universal, but by serving the old order, the order which is in such crisis at this time.

Precisely as humanity is pledging throughout the world to step up its struggle to defend the rights of all, the British government has set out its legislative programme to attack the rights of all. It is explicitly attacking the right of all to a livelihood, attacking the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers as human beings, the right of all to a fair trial by their peers and that all are innocent until proven guilty, the rights of all to health care and to education, entrenching the violation of the right to elect and be elected, the rights of nations within the state of Britain, the right of nations and countries to sovereignty. Not only this, but the government is signalling its intention to drag society further backwards by re-examining the Human Rights Act, which enshrines into British law the European Convention on Human Rights, following the spurious logic that the rights of all are a matter of "balance", that granting rights to some means that the rights of others must be taken away.

This clearly signals that the working class and people must step up the struggle for their rights and the rights of all on the advanced basis that an injury to one is an injury to all.

One Humanity, One Struggle!

Public Meeting

Wednesday 10th December, 6pm
New Theatre, Building E, LSE Houghton St WC2 (nearest tube Holborn/Temple)

On the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) creating a global framework for the protection of the rights of everyone, and in this climate of multiple crises, we invite you to consider: do we really have human rights? Can 'rights' help us respond to the challenge of reconstructing society; so that justice, mutual respect and equality prevail? And if so, what concrete actions must we now take?

The 10th December event at the LSE looks to mark the 60th anniversary by finding ways to make human rights relevant to all, and not just activists, lawyers and academics. Asking the question: how can a broad civil rights platform encompass the full range of relevant social movements in Britain today? We will explore beyond civil liberties and individual rights to consider: what are humanity's essential, and collective economic, social, political and environmental rights, for which we must fight?

"Men are not capable of doing nothing, of saying nothing, of not reacting to injustice, of not protesting against oppression, of not striving for the good of society and the good life in the ways they see it" Nelson Mandela (First Court Statement, 1962)

Event Themes

Speakers, panellists and questioners may wish to consider the history of the UDHR - successes, failures, shortcomings, opportunities  - under six broad themes: Culture, Development, Dignity and Justice, Environment, Gender and Participation. They may also wish to refer to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Human Rights Act (HRA) as well as the EU Charter of Fundamental Freedoms and recent UK Cabinet proposal for a Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. And in respect of any or all of these, and the various crises we find ourselves in: what concrete actions must we now take?

Format, Topics & Speakers

1. Afternoon Seminar - Prison and Society

3-5pm Room H102, Connaught House Building (on Aldwych)

A. Hicham Yezza, Nicki FRFI, Massah Barnett and others on the politics of Prison;

B. Professor Michael Edwards, Teresa Hoskyns, Dave Wetzel [Labour Land Campaign] and others on the Politics of Society in the context of Land, LVT, Housing and Lebfevre's Right to the City; and

C. Action proposals, discussion and preparing questions for Evening Conference.

2. Evening Conference - Building a Movement

6-9.30pm New Theatre, Building E,  Houghton St

6pm Intros and Initial Presentations

Intro to Project (MC Ismet Rawat)
Head of State Immunity (Peter Tatchell)
Brazilian Rainforest (Vivienne Westwood)
Reports from 3pm Seminar on Prison and Society
Personal Story (Massah Barnett)

7pm Speaker Sessions

Public Services (Hugh Lanning)
The Environment (Asad Rehman)
War on Terror (Andy Worthington)
Civil Liberties (AC Grayling)

8-9.30pm Audience Q&A Discussion and Action Proposals

Brief Note About Q&A

We want to come out of the day with concrete, shared ideas about how to move forward the human rights movement after our 60-year experience with the UDHR, and more recently the ECHR and HRA. We have chosen the topics, speakers and panellists to provide the potential foundation for a movement based on liberty, dignity and justice for all in the UK and beyond. Furthermore, both the timetable and Q&A format are designed to leave sufficient space to discuss and plan future actions together. We would therefore ask speakers to plan their presentations accordingly: what collective actions we must now undertake? And we would ask participants to do the same in relation to any questions, comments or concrete proposals they put forward.

Karen AbuZayd*, UN Relief Works Agency, December 6, 2008

The noble spirit of the universal declaration of human rights is betrayed by a lack of help for Gaza

As we approach the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the steadily rising death toll in Gaza highlights the painful gap between its peaceful rhetoric and the desperate reality for Palestinian people.

The declaration was a pivotal statement in which the world community recognised the "inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world". True to its nobility of spirit, it declares "the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom from fear and want as the highest aspiration of the common people".

Sixty years on, the fate of the Palestinian people should be a cause for universal soul-searching. The need to give substantive meaning to the protection of Palestinians has never been greater. The former high commissioner for human rights, Mary Robinson has said that in Gaza, nothing short of a "civilisation" is being destroyed. Desmond Tutu has called it "an abomination". The humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Maxwell Gaylard, said that in Gaza there was a "massive assault" on human rights. Most recently, the European commissioner, Louis Michel, described the blockade of Gaza as a "form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians, which is a violation of international humanitarian law".

Fatality figures for the occupied Palestinian territory must surely make us question our commitment to upholding the right to life, that most fundamental of all rights, protected by a broad range of international legal instruments. More than 500 Palestinians, 73 of them children, have been killed this year alone as a result of the conflict -- more than double the figure for 2005. Eleven Israelis have lost their lives this year. The informal ceasefire in Gaza has been welcomed by Israelis and Palestinians alike. For the sake of the sanctity of human life, we hope that it continues to hold, in spite of recent violations.

The right to freedom of movement enshrined in article 13 of the universal declaration also remains a distant hope for many Palestinians. The inhumane blockade of Gaza -- which, as many senior UN officials have said, collectively punishes 1.5 million people -- and over 600 physical obstacles to movement in the West Bank are a sad reminder of the world community's failure to stand by that article.

With an estimated 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, including some 325 children, the declaration that "everyone has the right to liberty and security of person" and that no one shall be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment has a sad resonance today. Compounding these abuses are statistics that attest to the lack of protection of social and economic rights. An unprecedentedly high number of Gazans -- more than half -- now live below the deep poverty line.

This is a humanitarian crisis, but one that is deliberately imposed by political actors. It is the result of policies that have been imposed on the Palestinian people. Is it not time to look again at those policies and search for a new approach? Is it not time to question afresh our commitment to the noble tenets of the universal declaration?

Overarching all these rights is the right to self determination, the right to a state, which the Palestinians have been deprived of through 60 years of exile. Rights are best protected within the framework of statehood, and we at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, charged with delivering assistance until the refugee issue is resolved, are as aware of this as any humanitarian actor working in the Middle East.

The chasm between word and deed is a matter of puzzlement to many Palestinians. The result has been a cruel isolation from the global community, fed by the inaction of the international system. In such circumstances, radicalism and extremism easily take root. But this can be reversed, and protection is the place to start. Let us make the protection of Palestinian rights the byword of all our interventions. Let us make the vision of the signatories of the universal declaration a reality; continued failure to do so is to our universal shame.

* Karen AbuZayd is the commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on Situation of Human Rights on Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, December 9, 2008

In recent days the desperate plight of the civilian population of Gaza has been acknowledged by such respected international figures as the Secretary General of the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Last week, Karen AbuZayd, who heads the UN relief effort in Gaza, offered first-hand confirmation of the desperate urgency and unacceptable conditions facing the civilian population of Gaza. Although many leaders have commented on the cruelty and unlawfulness of the Gaza blockade imposed by Israel, such a flurry of denunciations by normally cautious UN officials has not occurred on a global level since the heyday of South African apartheid.

And still Israel maintains its Gaza siege in its full fury, allowing only barely enough food and fuel to enter to stave off mass famine and disease. Such a policy of collective punishment, initiated by Israel to punish Gazans for political developments within the Gaza strip, constitutes a continuing flagrant and massive violation of international humanitarian law as laid down in Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

It is long past the time when talk suffices. As AbuZayd has written, "the chasm between word and deed" with respect to upholding human rights in occupied Palestine creates a situation where "radicalism and extremism easily take root". The UN is obligated to respond under these conditions. Some governments of the world are complicit by continuing their support politically and economically for Israel's punitive approach.

Protective action must be taken immediately to offset the persisting and wide-ranging violations of the fundamental human right to life, and in view of the emergency situation that is producing a humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding day by day. However difficult politically, it is time to act. At the very least, an urgent effort should be made at the United Nations to implement the agreed norm of a "responsibility to protect" a civilian population being collectively punished by policies that amount to a Crime Against Humanity.

In a similar vein, it would seem mandatory for the International Criminal Court to investigate the situation, and determine whether the Israeli civilian leaders and military commanders responsible for the Gaza siege should be indicted and prosecuted for violations of international criminal law. As AbuZayd has declared, "This is a humanitarian crisis deliberately imposed by political actors."

It should be noted that the situation worsened in recent days due to the breakdown of a truce between Hamas and Israel that had been observed for several months by both sides. The truce was maintained by Hamas despite the failure of Israel to fulfil its obligation under the agreement to improve the living conditions of the people of Gaza.

The recent upsurge of violence occurred after an Israeli incursion that killed several alleged Palestinian militants within Gaza. It is a criminal violation of international law for elements of Hamas or anyone else to fire rockets at Israeli towns regardless of provocation, but such Palestinian behaviour does not legalise Israel's imposition of a collective punishment of a life- and health-threatening character on the people of Gaza, and should not distract the UN or international society from discharging their fundamental moral and legal duty to render protection to the Palestinian people.

For further information on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and work and mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights on Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, visit the following website: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/MENARegion/Pages/PSIndex.asp