Cultivate loving, kindness, compassion and altruism with dignity
Cultivate loving, kindness, compassion and altruism with dignity
Human rights are rights we have simply because we exist as human beings - they are not granted by any state. These universal rights are inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They range from the most fundamental - the right to life - to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, was the first legal document to set out the fundamental human rights to be universally protected. The UDHR, which turned 73 in 2021, continues to be the foundation of all international human rights law. Its 30 articles provide the principles and building blocks of current and future human rights conventions, treaties and other legal instruments.
The UDHR, together with the 2 covenants - the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - make up the international Bill of Rights.
The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of international human rights law. This means that we are all equally entitled to our human rights. This principle, as first emphasized in the UDHR, is repeated in many international human rights conventions, declarations, and resolutions.
Human rights are inalienable. They should not be taken away, except in specific situations and according to due process. For example, the right to liberty may be restricted if a person is found guilty of a crime by a court of law
All human rights are indivisible and interdependent. This means that one set of rights cannot be enjoyed fully without the other. For example, making progress in civil and political rights makes it easier to exercise economic, social and cultural rights. Similarly, violating economic, social and cultural rights can negatively affect many other rights.
Article 1 of the UDHR states: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." Freedom from discrimination, set out in Article 2, is what ensures this equality.
Non-discrimination cuts across all international human rights law. This principle is present in all major human rights treaties. It also provides the central theme of 2 core instruments: the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
All States have ratified at least 1 of the 9 core human rights treaties, as well as 1 of the 9 optional protocols. 80% of States have ratified 4 or more. This means that States have obligations and duties under international law to respect, protect and fulfill human rights.
Meanwhile, as individuals, while we are entitled to our human rights - but, we should also respect and stand up for the human rights of others.
“Inside Israel, we are Palestinians too.” When solidarity protests erupted across the country in May, a Palestinian resident in the city of Lydd (or Lod, as Israel renamed it) told AJ+ that local Jewish Israelis marked their homes with red paint so they could be targeted for attacks by armed settlers.
This is part of a much larger project happening in Lydd, where ultra-nationalist Jewish Israelis have been moving into the city for over a decade with resources and support from the state. The group is called the Garin Torani, or “Torah Seeds,” and its goal is to create a Jewish majority in Arab-majority neighborhoods. Residents we spoke with say that while the city has welcomed these Jewish settlers, it has also ignored the basic needs of Palestinian citizens. In the aftermath of recent violence that left two people dead, one Jewish and the other Palestinian, new levels of mistrust and generational trauma are haunting these residents.
AJ+ went to Lydd to find out how Palestinians with Israeli citizenship are challenging the country’s de facto policy of divide and rule while demanding freedom from colonial oppression.
AJ+
Aug 5, 2021
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May 19, 2021
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Often described as the world’s biggest prison, most of the world only pays attention to Gaza when its firing rockets at Israel. It’s a tiny territory with no control of its own borders or airspace. Most of its residents are refugees from just across the boundary with Israel who have almost no chance of ever leaving. Outside visitors are rare. Escape – even during Israeli bombings – is impossible. Most children have never known a full day of electricity. And these conditions aren’t the result of some natural disaster – they’re deliberate policy decisions.
AJ+
Aug 5, 2021
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Jerusalem, July 27, 2021 – Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups carried out attacks during the May 2021 fighting in the Gaza Strip and Israel that violated the laws of war and apparently amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch said today. The Israeli military and Palestinian authorities have a long track record of failing to investigate laws of war violations committed in or from Gaza. Human Rights Watch investigated three Israeli strikes that killed 62 Palestinian civilians where there were no evident military targets in the vicinity. Palestinian armed groups also committed unlawful attacks, launching more than 4,360 unguided rockets and mortars toward Israeli population centers, violating the prohibition against deliberate or indiscriminate attacks against civilians. Human Rights Watch will separately release findings on rocket attacks by Palestinian armed groups.
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For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Israel/Palestine, please visit: https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/north...
Israel’s bombing of Gaza has killed 213 people and Hamas rockets into Israel have killed 13.
The New York Times
July 15, 2021
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Israeli police have arrested activists Muna al-Kurd and Mohammed al-Kurd, who have been at the forefront of the campaign to stop the forced expulsions of Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The arrests of the activists, who are twins, come a day after Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Givara Budeiri was arrested while covering a demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah. Budeiri was released hours later after her arrest drew global condemnation.
Al Jazeera
Jun 6, 2021
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The Palestinian woman who captured the world’s attention fighting to save Sheikh Jarrah.
“We are not going anywhere. We’ll stay in our homes until the last moment”.
AJ+
May 25, 2021
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"You are stealing my house."
This is what a Palestinian woman told an Israeli settler, as he tried to take over her family's home in occupied East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
AJ+
May 5, 2021
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