René Cassin, the Jewish voice for human rights, is asking groups and individuals to stand together for a society that is open and celebrates diversity and to send a message that intolerance and hostility towards any community is unacceptable.
Hate crime has doubled, in the UK, between 2013 and 2019. Hate crime does not discriminate, it affects all marginalised and persecuted groups and seeks to further division and hostility. The pandemic has provided a unique and new opportunity for online extremists to sow division. Hateful extremists have exploited the shared feeling of isolation and fear among many during the pandemic to recruit and divide communities.
But communities are coming together, stronger than ever, in the movement to stop hate. René Cassin has been working with The Traveller Movement to spread this message and stand alongside others in the movement to cut out hate speech and hate crime.
That’s why we’re asking as many people as possible to join our conversation on how hate crime affects us all and why they’re committed to #CutItOut.
Moses, our Community Engagement Officer, tells us why he’s committed to #CutItOut.
How you can help
We’re asking our friends and supporters to use the #CutItOut hashtag. You can use the hashtag to highlight why and/or how you’re campaigning to stop hate speech and hate crime and why others should do the same.
We have created some social media assets (see below) to use alongside the #CutItOut hashtag, and we’re asking you to share your story using the templates and tag others and encourage them to do the same.
Use these social media templates on Facebook and Instagram:
Use these social media templates on Instagram stories:
Today, 10th December, is International Human Rights Day – the 76th anniversary of the signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
The Declaration was a reaction to the horrors of the Holocaust. So, for Jews, today has a particuar significance.
Although rooted in response to atrocity, the Declaration was forward-looking and optimistic. It spoke for the majority of people who knew a better world was possible. The fact that it’s co-author , the French-Jewish lawyer Monsieur Rene Cassin, could draft such a hopeful document so soon after 26 members of his family were murdered by the Nazis is a testament to his humanity and the power of human rights in general.
Today, as the organisation that works in Cassin’s name, we are determined to ensure his Declaration’s vision of human rights for all is fully realised. Central to that work is a focus on so called ‘socio-economic rights’ – rights to everyday essentials like food, housing and health. This vision was best articulated in Article 25 of the Declaration:
‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control’.
Bolstering these rights would ensure everybody has access to the foundations on which to build a dignified, prosperous and meaningful life. They have been neglected for too long.
We are constantly developing our campaigns, planning events, and cultivating discussions on Human Rights issues, sign up for our email updates and we’ll keep you informed on all we are working on and how YOU can get involved.
