14 - 20 December 2000
Issue No.512
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 14 - 20 December 2000 Issue No.512 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Happy human rights day
It has been 52 years since the International Declaration of Human Rights was issued, and continuing violations of the Palestinian people's rights make this far more than just a routine commemoration. The right to self-determination is the cornerstone without which it is difficult to imagine how a people might enjoy any rights whatever. And vice versa: it is impossible to defend the collective rights of peoples until individuals are granted the right to express themselves, to meet and organise. These points are given great urgency by the events currently unfolding in the region. The brutal suppression of protests in sympathy with the Intifada, for instance, is testimony to the absence of such rights in the Arab world.
Although Egyptian solidarity with the second Intifada has been more radical and forthcoming than solidarity with the first (1987-1990), the paralysis that beset trade unions and political parties starting in the mid-1990s has meant that demonstrations this time around are quieter and more subdued. This is further evidence of the need for a holistic human rights vision that promotes the activities of local civil institutions as well as backing regional causes like the Intifada.
The world community has failed to protect human rights or apply unbiased criteria in this regard. Israel remains practically the only state in the world that is immune to punishment despite the horrific crimes it has committed for the past 52 years. On the contrary, it enjoys exceptional American protection in the Security Council; Europe, by directly condoning such protection or failing to put up any opposition, thus colludes in it.
A message to mark 52 years of human rights: collective and individual human rights go together, and it is necessary to defend them both; the manipulation of human rights by the world community, which favours some states rather than furthering the cause of humanity as a whole, must end.
* This week's Soapbox speaker is head of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights.
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