2023-12-05 11:54:19
© Amnesty InternationalAnniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The organization also identifies challenges and progress in the protection of human rights in Spain during this period.
“In a deeply interconnected world, the challenges we face as a global society require greater cooperation and leadership committed to human rights,” said Esteban Beltrán, director of Amnesty International Spain on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“The recent pandemic has already highlighted the glaring lack of global governance and leadership, in addition to the fragile interdependence and urgent need for solidarity between nations. Unresolved armed conflicts for decades, paralysis of the United Nations Security Councilsystemic inequalities that threaten the right to education or health of millions of people, climate change that represents the greatest intergenerational threat to humanity, unprecedented migratory and refugee movements that see their rights grossly violated, disruptive technologies without control and an increase in the repression of peaceful protest are some of the painful reminders of the problems and challenges that persist for human rights and that can only be addressed globally.”
“The impact of this lack of global leadership truly committed to human rights causes the rights of millions of women, children and marginalized communities to continue to be violated, with persistent discrimination and violence. Furthermore, technological advances, while promising, raise new ethical dilemmas at breakneck speed. Inequality, with its simultaneous setbacks and advances depending on the regions of the world, gender equality and LGBTQ + rights continue to be crucial challenges that require immediate attention and action” he added.
”Upon its adoption, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights soon became a global movement of hope, even beyond its original intentions, inspiring anti-colonial movements and establishing a solid framework for justice and equality. 75 years later, and despite all the difficulties it is going through, we can say that human rights have been an incontestable success in the history of humanity,” said Esteban Beltrán.
“Despite the challenging and uncertain situation that the world is experiencing today, since 1948 significant progress has been made in multiple areas, such as the right to education and the reduction of illiteracy in a large number of countries, access to medical care for more social sectors, gender equality, legal protection against discrimination, the prohibition of torture, the creation of the International Criminal Court, the prosecution and punishment of some responsible for crimes under international law or progress in the abolition of the death penalty. death. And despite some initial criticism that it was a text heavily influenced by the West, the Declaration soon became a global movement that has had a powerful influence on achieving substantial advances for human rights, including establishing a universal legal framework for the protection of human rights. human rights which, for the first time in the history of humanity, establishes that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’. Definitely, the world would be a worse world today without human rights.”
“The current global environment and its major challenges are urgent imperatives that urge us to rethink and update the Universal Declaration to reflect the new dynamics in global relations between individuals, States and corporations, to confront populist discourses that threaten to undermine the protection of human rights. rights, or to ward off the threats that disruptive technological advances represent for the safeguarding of human rights in an increasingly digitalized and complex world.”
“Amnesty International is aware of the challenge that lies ahead and will launch the 2048 Commission in early 2024, a wide-ranging project to reimagine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in view of its centenary. If civil society does not lead and push for human rights to advance, there is little chance that governments will do so. This is one of the painful consequences of the lack of global leadership that the world suffers.”
The human rights landscape in Spain has evolved significantly since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, marking milestones that reflect tangible progress, although there are still cracks through which serious human rights violations slip through in our country.
Basic education, one of the pillars of a just and free society, was regulated as mandatory and free in 1970; Since the establishment of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, great advances have taken place in the right to freedom of expression, in democratic participation in free elections and gender equality. The Workers’ Statute of 1980 developed labor rights and the right to work contained in the Constitution. In 1986, the right to health recognized in the Constitution was made effective by law and the National Health System was created, although there have been setbacks during this time that do not guarantee the universality of this right. The death penalty was also practically abolished.
However, notable challenges remain that require immediate attention. The main long-term challenge for Spain to take a significant step in the protection of human rights in Spain is to reform the Constitution, which does not offer uniform protection of all human rights, leaving gaps that limit the full defense of rights such as access to housing or health, among others. The right to housing, not recognized as a fundamental right in the Constitution, after almost fifty years of democracy, had its first law only last year and now needs to be put into practice.
The reform of the Constitution is necessary to ensure the uniform protection of all human rights. This reform could represent an opportunity to align the Magna Carta, even more, with compliance with the international human rights treaties ratified by Spain. Ensuring that rights are not compromised during economic crises or other exceptional situations and the inclusion of environmental protection as a constitutional right are proposed as key pillars of this possible reform.
In the short and medium term, there are also major challenges in human rights: reversing the serious setback in freedom of expression and association in 2015, in which Congress approved the Organic Law for the Protection of Citizen Security (LOSC, known as ‘Gag Law’) and the reform of the Penal Code, the considerable economic and social inequalities in various regions of the State, with nearly 22% of the population at risk of poverty or social exclusion, or the consequences of climate change, such as high temperatures and heat waves, which endanger the health and lives of thousands of people. The Mediterranean area is the region that is warming the fastest.
The fight against gender violence or sexual violence, the multiple obstacles encountered by racialized refugees and immigrants who seek to reach Spain fleeing armed conflicts, repression or impoverishment, as well as the guarantee of access to justice For the victims of Francoism, these are other challenges that continue to require concrete and urgent actions by the authorities.
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