70 years ago this year, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated that “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as sex…”.
With this year’s theme for International Women’s Day being #PressForProgress, how far has that declaration of our right to gender equality really impacted us today, and how far do we have left to go?
Despite great progress made in the UK, women continue to be a minority group affected by discrimination, slavery and detention. Many women continue to suffer from inequality in their homes, employment and in state institutions.
As the Jewish voice for human rights, René Cassin will continue to promote the message set out in the UDHR that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.
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.
