The urgent need to protect human rights in a more insecure, threatening world
Lauvale Tiumalu Peter Faafiu is a former New Zealand diplomat and the global vice chair for the international board of Amnesty International. OPINION: New Zealands top diplomat, Chris Seed (the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade) in recent weeks has reminded politicians and the public that the world is becoming more insecure and threatening. Foreign, trade, security and intelligence departments around the world are clearly seeing the shift from rules to power. For small states like New Zealand and its Pacific neighbours, the complexity and breadth of the challenges are all-consuming. READ MORE: * Embassies evacuate from Sudan but thousands of foreigners left behind * Kiwi Sikhs fear they are stuck in exile as rising Hindu nationalism grips India * Saudi Fifa sponsorship saga highlights the need for human rights reform Human rights abuses by the state apparatus are now matched by some corporations, particularly technology companies. Political testimonies from the likes of Frances Haugen (Instagram whistle blower) and Shou Zi Chew(CEO, Tik Tok), or the orchestrated murders of journalists and dissidents like Jamal Khashoggi are now reaching the dinner tables of New Zealanders. The global fight against Covid and climate change has laid frighteningly bare the divisions within societies. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the newly established United Nations on December 10, 1948, in response to the barbarous acts which ... outraged the conscience of mankind during World War II. Its adoption recognised human rights to be the foundation for freedom, justice, and peace. Since 1961, Amnesty International has been at the forefront of advocating all governments to operate within a rules-based international system founded on human rights and applied to everyone, everywhere. As the UDHR turns 75, the rules-based international system itself is under threat. Amnesty Internationals recently released annual report for 2022 highlights double standards throughout the world on human rights and the failure of the international community to unite around consistently-applied human rights and universal values. Evidence from our offices reaffirm that power dictates the foreign and economic policies of some states. Its also the lens within which some governments now fail to protect and respect human rights within their borders. Double standards and inadequate responses by governments to human rights abuses taking place around the world have fuelled impunity and instability, including a deafening silence on the human rights record of allies and members of the UNs own Human Rights Council. Global and regional institutions have failed in their responsibilities. They are hamstrung by the self-interest of their members and therefore inadequately respond to grave human rights abuses. One such example was the Chogm (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) taking place in Rwanda in 2022 when only a few kilometres away the refugee camps on its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo were bursting at the seams. It looks like all signs point to history repeating itself in those two countries. History is now repeating itself in Sudan and Mali . When Putin called the Wagner Group to Ukraine, that mercenary group left their posts in 11 countries. Ethnic fractures are reappearing in the Western Balkans. The world's largest democracy, India, is fracturing along religious and ethnic lines. China is among a group of countries who have now professionalised their strong-arm tactics to suppress international action on crimes against its own citizens. Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 unleashed numerous war crimes, generated a global energy and food crisis, and sought to further disrupt a weak multilateral system. It also reaffirmed the hypocrisy of Western states that reacted forcefully to Russias aggression but condoned or were complicit in grave violations committed elsewhere. There are glimmers of hope. Power also emanates from the people as it has done in human history. Movements no longer need a structure or even leaders as was shown in Hong Kong or Peru or globally with #MeToo. The current and next generation of leaders are adapting faster to the complexity and breadth of the challenges. The international NGO system is also adapting even when under attack by governments. The recent forced closure of our Amnesty offices in India, Hong Kong, Russia by those governments has led to the opening of offices elsewhere and better coordination of efforts among NGOs and movements. While global power dynamics are in chaos and the rules-based international system under threat, human rights cannot be lost in the fray. The declaration of 75 years ago is more important now than it ever has been.