GENEVA-UNGA president warns humanity’s cherished Magna Carta is under threat

GENEVA, CMC – President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Dennis Francis, Monday said 75 years after adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights “it is deeply concerning that human rights are under grave and increasing threat around the world”.

Addressing the opening of the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, Francis said it has left a staggering 300 million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance, some 114 million of them being refugees and other displaced peoples.

He said in the Gaza Strip, the suffering of innocent civilians has reached an unbearable tipping point, with over 90 percent of the population displaced, teetering on the brink of starvation, and trapped in the depths of an impending though avoidable public health catastrophe.

“As the all-too-familiar cycle of war persists, the most vulnerable suffer most; hostages and their families are living in anguish; women and children are facing desperate and uncertain futures; and innocent civilians are unjustly caught in life-threatening crossfire.”

Francis, the Trinidad and Tobago ambassador to the UN, said the war in Ukraine, now in its third year, has only grown more entrenched, with no foreseeable signs of cessation in the short term.

He also said Haiti has descended into lawlessness, while persistent violence across Yemen, Sudan, Myanmar, and elsewhere has exacerbated the human rights situation with deepening concern.

The UNGA president said that in the Sahel, the impact of strife and environmental stressors has led to a resurgence of famine, jeopardizing the right to food and proper nutrition for millions.

“And across the globe, threats to democracy and the rise of authoritarianism have impacted everything, from freedom of speech and movement to denial of education for girls and access to due process by many others.

“These events, which can only be described as regressive, have called into question the depth of our commitment to the very principles we swore to uphold 75 years ago: namely, that human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated, Francis said, adding “and above all else, being universal, they apply to and must be enjoyed by all, in equal measure, without exception.

“As President of the General Assembly, my message to you today is simple and unequivocal: we must not fail the victims of human rights violations.

“We must never tolerate or ignore the flagrant disregard for the rights and freedoms our forebearers worked so arduously to define and to codify. Nor should we ignore the systemic impunity with which it is perpetrated.”

Francis said in the name of humanity; the United Nations must vehemently use its commanding platforms to speak up and to speak out louder in demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and for the opening of corridors to render urgently needed assistance and care to the 1.5 million displaced and unhoused Palestinians.

“Furthermore, I implore donor States to uphold and sustain their contributions to the critical funding necessary for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to discharge its mandated responsibilities to the Palestinians. Despite the extraordinary challenges, UNRWA has been and continues to be an indispensable lifeline supporting the Palestinians.”

Francis said across the globe, the inhumane brutality and suffering must stop.

“We must not simply stand by as callous observers, lest we be seen as complicit in the expanding web of dehumanization. No! We must do our part,” he said, adding, “The decisive role of this august Council is crucial in our collective efforts.”

Francis said he firmly believes that systems of entrenched inequality cannot be dismantled without honestly confronting the legacies of past injustices.

“Next month, in the General Assembly, we will mark the International Day of Remembrance of the victims of slavery as well as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, followed by the third session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.

“These events will be opportunities to acknowledge the debilitating legacy of suffering by people of African descent deriving from chattel slavery. We must re-assert our resolve to root out structural racism, poverty, and pervasive inequality.”

Francis said the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States and the General Assembly’s High-level meeting on addressing the existential threats posed by Sea-Level Rise will provide much-needed platforms to raise awareness about the interlinkages between the climate crisis and human rights.

He said another critical discussion during this session would focus on the role of the Ombudsman and mediator institutions in promoting and protecting human rights, good governance, and the rule of law.