Today marks the 76th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a landmark document created in 1948 to protect the dignity and equality of all people. Born from the horrors of World War II, it was a commitment to prevent such tragedies and affirm the non-negotiable rights of every individual.

Yet, 76 years later, the gap between these ideals and reality remains vast. Wars continue, torture persists, and the rights of women, children, minorities, and refugees are still violated daily. Even in Western countries, which led the declaration, human rights violations endure, and globally, the situation in many nations is even more dire.

One year after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, which resulted in over 44,000 deaths and widespread destruction in Gaza, the conflict’s impacts endure.

For 76 years, Palestinians have faced apartheid and crimes against humanity by Israel, enduring systematic discrimination. Decades of oppression and displacement have stripped Palestinians of their rights and marginalized their culture, in violation of international law.

A year of continuous violence in Gaza and Israel, without a meaningful ceasefire, has intensified the suffering of millions. Meanwhile, accountability for these atrocities remains virtually nonexistent.

United Kingdom and Europe

• In 2024, strict border policies targeting migrants and refugees persisted across the United Kingdom and Europe, resulting in 315 lives lost in the English Channel alone.
• Across Europe, reports of pushbacks and mistreatment of refugees remain widespread.
• Violations of digital freedom of expression are rising, with thousands of individuals’ privacy compromised by data security breaches.

United States

• Police violence with racial undertones continues, echoing tragic incidents like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, while Black and Latino individuals remain disproportionately incarcerated.
• Children are still forcibly separated from their families at the border, with migrants held in harsh detention conditions.

Turkey

• Over the past eight years, approximately 2 million people in Turkey have faced terrorism investigations based on unfounded accusations, with hundreds of thousands imprisoned.
• As of 2023, Turkey remains one of the highest violators in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), with over 4,000 convictions.
• Despite this, Turkey continues to disregard ECHR rulings, with 65 journalists imprisoned and hundreds of human rights defenders facing legal pressure.
• More than 300 women are killed annually in gender-based violence cases.

China

• UN data reveals that over 1.8 million Uyghur Turks are detained in “re-education camps” in East Turkestan.
• The systematic suppression of religious freedoms and cultural heritage continues in Tibet.
• In 2024, over 40 multinational companies faced criticism for involvement in forced labor practices in China.

Russia

• Over 20,000 people were detained for participating in anti-war protests.
• 80% of independent media outlets were either shut down or labeled as “foreign agents.”
• Conditions for LGBTQ+ individuals have worsened, with over 500 people prosecuted under “propaganda laws.” 

India

• In 2023, over 200 religion-based hate crimes were reported, revealing widespread discrimination against minority groups.
• Women face an average of 87 sexual assault cases daily.
• Muslim communities endure systematic threats, including displacement and loss of citizenship rights.

Iran

• The women’s rights movement gained momentum after the death of Mahsa Amini, yet over 800 female protesters were detained in 2024.
• More than 600 lives were lost during protests.
• Women continue to endure severe consequences for demanding basic rights and freedoms.

Afghanistan

• Under Taliban rule, women’s rights to education have been fully stripped away, leaving over 1 million women without access to university education in 2024.
• 80% of journalists have either been forced to leave their profession or flee the country.

Myanmar

• The systematic ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims continues. According to the UN, 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh live in dire, inhumane conditions.

Syria and Yemen

• In Syria, the ongoing civil war has displaced nearly 14 million people.
• In Yemen, 2.2 million children face the risk of death from hunger and malnutrition.

Today, humanity faces one of its most critical tests in the ongoing struggle for rights. Human rights are not a distant dream but an urgent and unshakable responsibility that demands our attention now. The fundamental dignity of millions hangs in the balance, and we must not wait for a global catastrophe to rediscover our shared humanity.

We are not naive optimists. We are determined individuals, strategically and resolutely committed to defending human dignity. Rights are not privileges granted from above; they are shared values earned and protected through continuous struggle. As Martin Luther King Jr. so powerfully reminded us, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

December 10, Human Rights Day illuminates our identity, reminding us of our shared humanity, responsibilities, and the poetry of existence. In the heart of winter, as we are floating on the misty ocean of our collective consciousness the 10th of December emerges as the poetry of who we are, where we did come from, where we are going.

On this day, as we commemorate and observe Human Rights Day, we understand that when we, as humanity, forget who we are and where we come from, we risk beginning to cease to exist.

We may not see the dreams that cease to exist in the narrow alleys of Gaza, but those dreams become the stars that guide us in the spectacular ocean of our collective consciousness. Even though we do not understand the agony many individuals go through in Ukraine, the nation’s resilience becomes the boat on which we float. The suffering of the Uyghur Turks in China and their plight, marked by violations of fundamental human rights becomes the mist floating on the ocean of our consciousness.

As we mark the 10th of December, this day is a call to action, an invitation to stand in solidarity with those in the throes of conflict and crisis. It is a day to affirm our commitment to the ideals of justice, equality, and dignity for all.

In the heart of winter, December 10th stands as a beacon of hope, a reminder that even in the ongoing passage of time, we can embalm the virtues of human rights into our calendar of wisdom.

Let this day be a day of reflection on who we are, where we came from, where we are going, but also of resolve – a resolve to make the ideals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights not just a poetry, but a reality for every person, in every corner of the world.

If this day does not become a day of resolve and reflection, then we would get lost like a waterdrop in an ocean.

DATE: 30 August 2021

PLACE: Opposite of Number 10, Downing Street

COMMITTEE: Justice Corner

From China to Turkey, from Russia to Saudi Arabia illiberal countries are known to have engaged in enforced disappearances of opposition voices. Starting with the thwarted Coup attempt of 2016, Turkish government authorized its intelligence agency to engage in cross-border abduction operations and the officers of the Turkish National Intelligence Agency were protected with legal impunity.

On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances (30 August) we were opposite Number 10, Downing Street, calling our government to be more proactive in preventing such practices and securing that the perpetrators of such violations of human rights be brought in front of justice.

Here is the speech HRS spokesperson delivered during the day of the protest:

Tool of Terror?

Dear Friends,

We are gathered today to observe the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

This day was promulgated by the United Nations, as an international observance in December 2010. The aim was to draw attention to the fate of individuals imprisoned at places unknown to their relatives. A decade later, we are here today, to raise our voices, and to remind our governments that nothing has changed…

Ten years of work has given no meaningful result.

Dear Friends,

In October 2020 the daily number of enforced disappearances surpassed 1,000 people worldwide. A majority of these people went missing during attempts of migration from a zone of conflict.

The Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration has counted more than 35,000 migrants who lost their lives or went missing since 2014.

Only a little proportion of abductions are reported. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project reported in the 18 months before August 2020, more than 3,200 abductions and forced disappearances worldwide. More than half of these abductions took place in only four countries: China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico and Syria.

In later years, European countries were involved in abductions of opposition figures. Turkish intelligence agents found cooperating partners in Moldovo and Kosovo in kidnapping of their nationals.

Despite all revelations on disappearing Uyghurs at the Chinese concentration camps, our governments continue on favoring China as a trade partner.

We have seen how Western governments are contracting the task of their border protection against waves of immigration to dictators.

Our governments are at best silent on the face of these enforced disappearances.

The missing Uyghurs in China, families demanding information about their missing family members in Islamabad, funerals held after 3 decades in Afghanistan, and international abductions regime that turned Turkey into a pirate state…

All call for action!

And there is no action at the side of our governments.

Let us raise our voice for the victims of enforced disappearances all around the world.

Let us demand justice for them.

We demand our government to sign and ratify the International Convention on the Protection of all persons from Enforced Disappearance.

We demand our government to enhance the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime to include the perpetrators of enforced disappearances.

We demand our government to prioritize a complete stop to state run abduction campaigns as a precondition of friendly relations.

Let there be no more kidnappings!

Let there be no more enforced disappearances! No more abductions by state agents!