January 12, 2024
Source: Human Rights Watch
Cited article by Human Rights Watch
HRRC emphasizes that global leaders have indeed fallen short in addressing pressing human rights issues, emphasizing the need for a more consistent and principled approach to upholding universal human rights principles.
News Brief
The Human Rights Watch World Report 2024 highlights the failure of global leaders to effectively address human rights issues in 2023. The report emphasizes a lack of strong stands amid significant crises, including armed conflicts in Israel, Ukraine, Myanmar, Ethiopia, and the Sahel, as well as environmental challenges like wildfires, droughts, and storms. Economic inequality also increased globally, leading to discontent with policy decisions affecting people's survival.
The report further goes on to criticize governments for engaging in selective diplomacy- condemning certain human rights violations while overlooking others. This inconsistency has been shown to erode trust in institutions responsible for enforcing and protecting rights. As such, the article consequently points out instances where governments have remained silent on abuses, such as the Chinese government's actions in Xinjiang and the Israeli government's 16-year closure of Gaza. It should be noted that the erosion of human rights is not limited to specific regions, as the report calls attention to violations in various countries, questioning the effectiveness of the human rights framework. Despite such significant challenges, the report also acknowledges positive developments, such as renewed legal protections in some countries and international decisions addressing human rights issues in others, though the current outlook remains grim.