LatinaLista — Syria. Sudan. The Democratic Republic of Congo. Pakistan. New Delhi. These five countries have the dubious global distinction of having the worst records for human rights abuses. But if the protests in Ferguson, Berkeley and the developing outcry over the Senate’s newly released report on CIA torture tactics are any indication, the United States is not immune from violating the rights of people either.
The problem is that while sensational cases of flagrant abuses of human rights violations, usually ending in death, grip the nation, human rights violations happen every day. It’s a reality that the United Nations stresses with this year’s theme for the 66th Human Rights Day global observance on December 10.
Human Rights 365 arrives at a time when war, police brutality, ideological extremism, government corruption and criminal depravity seem to be on the upswing victimizing too many innocent women, children and men. For that reason, the UN wanted people and governments to remember that human rights should be respected every day.
This year’s slogan, Human Rights 365, encompasses the idea that every day is Human Rights Day. It celebrates the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values.
To engage more people with this important issue, the UN has created the #rights365 Vine marathon and is asking people to upload short videos expressing what human rights means to them. Videos will be posted every hour leading up to #HRD2014.
The hope is that if enough people start thinking about the importance of human rights there will be greater appreciation of them and justified outrage when they’re taken away.
