Thursday, October 22, 2015

UN human rights chief urges recognition of 'dignity and worth of every human being'

The turmoil and crises the international community faces clearly demonstrate the disasters that may occur when human rights are “neglected and ground down,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

Presenting his annual report to the UN General Assembly's Third Committee – the Organization's main body dealing with social, humanitarian and cultural issues – he said the document “lays bare the urgent need for better human rights protection, across every field of human endeavour.”

The world's current challenges would only be solved when States apply the binding human rights commitments to which they have agreed, he continued. “It is by insisting on the dignity and worth of every human being, and securing their rights, that our States, together, will thrive.”

High Commissioner Zeid said that in the report, his Office (OHCHR) had identified priority areas requiring urgent action from every State, had investigated abuses and “called for accountability across a vast range of complex situations.”

“In the past year, humanitarian crises and conflicts have generated the worst human displacement since World War II,” he explained. “We face a crisis of migration governance globally, and in several regions. More effective approaches, grounded in the human rights of the people concerned, are urgently needed.”

He also echoed the words of the Secretary-General, who said last week that “there are not two kinds of people: 'deserving' or 'undeserving' migrants.

Link: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52333#.ViiZY7dIuM8

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