Justice for Ukraine – We Owe it to the Brave Jewish Pioneers of Human Rights

24 Feb, 2023 | Latest, Press releases and statements

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René Cassin statement on the first anniversary of the invasion.

Glory to Ukraine

One year on from Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, we seem to have slipped back 80 years. Russia’s actions have been labelled ‘war crimes’, ‘crimes against humanity’, even ‘genocide’ – evils that we hoped were consigned to history by the development of international human rights law that followed the atrocities of the Second World War.

The Nuremberg Trials, the Genocide Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights introduced a revolutionary new concept: that nation states would no longer be allowed to kill and oppress with impunity. In marked contrast to the horrors that prompted it, it was a peaceful revolution – states voluntarily relinquished sovereignty and pooled it in international agreements.

Over the past decade, there has been a growing reaction – a counter-revolution – against that post-war consensus. Putin is at the vanguard of a movement that wants to return the world to dark and dangerous lawlessness.

The creation of an international framework to counter the worst aspects of authoritarian nationalism is now a lifetime away. Unsurprisingly, that framework needs some attention. A significant improvement has been proposed by the eminent international lawyer and author Philippe Sands. Within days of the Russian invasion, he floated the idea of a ‘Special Tribunal’ for Ukraine. He argues that if the key perpetrators of atrocities in Ukraine – Putin and his political and military henchmen – are to be held accountable, current international law needs strengthening. Genocide has too high an evidential bar; war crimes and crimes against humanity would only catch small fry; the crime of aggression would be heard in the International Criminal Court, which Russia does not recognise.

Sands’ proposal is supported by many leading legal, political, and cultural figures and has recently won the backing of the European Parliament and the German foreign minister. The UK has offered qualified support.

International human rights law was a response to the horrors of the Holocaust. Unsurprisingly, Jewish lawyers were instrumental in that process – Raphael Lemkin developed the concept of genocide, Hersch Lauterpacht that of crimes against humanity. René Cassin co-authored the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

On the first anniversary of the invasion, the determination to ensure Putin answers for his actions is gathering momentum. As a Jewish human rights charity, we share that determination. We owe it to those brave pioneers. And we owe it to future generations to preserve and build on the visionary system of international justice they worked so hard to create.

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.

 

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