Why are human rights important?
Human rights aren’t something we think about a lot unless ours are being violated, or we are being deprived of them.
Most of us aren't even aware that considerable number of people in the world cannot invoke some rights we have - for when we think about human rights, we shouldn't only look at our own doorstep, but at the neighbour’s garden too, to make sure how they live.
In this case, the neighbour’s garden is the whole world.
- Can you as a woman freely make decisions about your education or other important decisions? In Saudi Arabia every woman still must have a male guardian who will make important decisions in her name. Only recently was it allowed for women to drive and travel!
- Are you afraid of being proclaimed a witch? In India, according to National Crime Records Bureau data, there were 134 murder cases in 2016 connected to witch hunt.
- Do you ever think about genital mutation? Probably not, while the number of genital mutations done to little girls in Uganda increased. According to UN estimations, around 200 million girls and women around the world have gone through genital mutation, which usually includes partial or complete removal of outer genitals.
- If you consider yourself an activist, do you fear for your life? United Nations report of more than 400 murders of human rights activists in 2022 and name 38 countries which persecute human rights activists. The 38 countries mentioned in the report include amongst others Russia, China, Hungary, Columbia, Cuba, Egypt, India, Israel, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Venezuela.
- Do you live in the country you were born in without fear that someone will force you to leave tomorrow? In the last couple years, one can see that this is not the reality of many migrants that had to leave their homes and escape towards an uncertain future.
- Do you feel safe as a woman in your country? If you don’t live in India, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia or Saudi Arabia you can consider yourself lucky. These countries are the most dangerous countries in the world for women.
- Do you fear becoming a victim of modern slavery? UK authorities estimate that at least 13.000 people across UK were victims of compulsory labour and sexual exploitation, while the police says that the real number could be among tens of thousands with the number of cases increasing.
- How great are your chances of becoming homeless? According to FEANTSA (European homelessness network) and French foundation Abbé Pierre reports for 2018, homelessness in Europe increased by 150 percent in Germany, 145 percent in Ireland and almost 100 percent in Belgium.
- Are you allowed to marry a person you’ve chosen yourself? In a lot of countries arranged marriages in which women have no rights to choose are still common practice.
- Can you hug, hold hands or kiss your partner in public without being judged and experiencing violence? Persons of same-sex orientation face discrimination, hate speech and violence and therefore don't feel safe to show their feeling in public. According to a survey from 2020 in Croatia, more than 80% of persons is afraid to hold hands in public, almost every other person faced discrimination in the last 12 months and 64% of surveyed persons experienced violence.
- Can you apply for a job and know you will get it according to your qualifications and competences? Women, transgender and Romani persons often face discrimination whilst applying for jobs and their labour rights get violated.
- Do you have access to education, health care, the right to work, to abortion, vote, the right to freedom of association, to state your opinions in a public space, to financial disposal!? Those are rights that aren't recognised for lots of people across the globe. And while Croatia is sadly turning more and more in the wrong direction, it’s more important than ever to be aware of our rights and fight to not lose them.
Fundamental human rights and charters
Although their history reaches far back, human rights as we know them today, which belong to every person since their moment of birth, were proclaimed for the first time by the United Nations.
Awful crimes committed during WW2 highlighted the need to protect basic human rights of persons across the world that wouldn’t be allowed to be violated even by state authorities so the crimes of WW2 would never be repeated.
The international community therefore established the UN and in the UN charter made a commitment that human rights would not be regulated and monitored only within a certain country but would be the concern of the international community. But first, it was important to establish what exactly human rights are and what they entail.
Therefore, on the 10th of December 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which proclaims for the first time in history the ‘catalogue of human rights’ which are undividable and universal was proclaimed. Within its 30 articles, the declaration publishes a row of political, civil, social, economic and cultural rights. Although this was a big step forward, this declaration isn't and wasn't legally binding.
To ensure execution and better rights protection, two legally binding treaties were made: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with Optional Protocols and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Both treaties came into force in 1976 after they were ratified.
Alongside these universal documents, the UN adopted more than 20 conventions that elaborate on human rights, regarding specific groups of persons or rights. These include the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Alongside UN’s institutions and charters, regional systems with the goal of stronger human rights protection were established. Although there were attempts both in Asia and the Middle East, the established regional mechanisms are European, African and inter-American.
The Council of Europe, an international organisation including 47 countries that are part of the broader European region, was established in 1949. Its members drafted the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The convention was drafted in 1950 and came into force in 1953.
Croatia ratified the convention and its protocols on the 5th of November 1997. European court of Human Rights was established as part of the convention – the most important European institution for ensuring execution and interpretation of human rights. The European court of Human Rights is the monitoring organ of the Convention which rules if a country violated some of the rights ensured by the convention based on specific complaints.
Alongside the convention and its protocols, the Council of Europe also proclaimed the European Social Charter, European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, etc.
EU members also have a system that is strongly connected to that of the Council of Europe. The most important document concerning human rights protection on EU level is the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, proclaimed in 2000 and legally binding for country members since 2009. Since therefore human rights officially became part of EU rights, individual court rulings about their violations are being handled by the European Court of Justice. In 2017, the European commission, parliament and council proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights, a document which encompasses equal opportunities and access to the labour market, fair work conditions, social welfare and inclusion.
EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) determines and analyses main developments within the field of human rights.
International legal instruments concerning the field of human rights point to the need for ensuring absolute equality between men and women and bind the countries to implement indiscriminatory legislations and ensure equal rights for men and women, since the right to equality represents a human right and the basis of social justice. These are the international documents that include women’s rights and gender equality: Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – CEDAW (Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, Beijing Declaration, UN declaration on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity.
All the aforementioned conventions and charters are applicable in Croatia and it’s important that the laws are aligned with them. In case of conflicts, international law has priority over national law. Human rights are guaranteed in Croatia by the Constitution. In article 3. the protection of human rights is regarded as the highest value of the constitutional order of the Republic of Croatia and Section III of the constitution guarantees the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as many individual rights. Many Croatian laws and other regulations on all levels give practical meaning to fundamental rights and individual freedoms. This concerns a great number of different regulations including for instance health care, social services, criminal legislation, protection against different types of discrimination, the educational system and so on. Among the most important ones we highlight the Constitutional Act on Human Rights and Freedoms and the Rights of Ethnic and National Communities or Minorities in the Republic of Croatia, Anti-Discrimination Act, Act on Gender Equality..
Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the 10th of December 2018, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission made a poster which depicts every single of the 30 declaration articles. The poster is being distributed to every school in Ireland so it can be used to discuss human right ideas as well as for discussions about equality values, justice and human dignity.