Safeguarding rights wherever you live, but what about the wrongs?
WHAT goes through your mind when you hear that someone, here in the UK, is claiming his or her human rights are being abused?
Nowadays, it follows the receipt of a speeding ticket, or their “rough arrest” during their involvement in a violent fracas. Do the constant "it abuses my human rights" claims irritate you?
In truth, most of us in Warwickshire live lives in relative freedom and safety. As our human rights are relatively intact, our comprehension of what life is like without recourse to free speech, free votes and freedom from violence is naturally limited.
I propose that the frequently inappropriate use of the term “human rights” in the UK at the moment is creating a cry-wolf situation, demeaning and demoting what activists, like myself and others who voluntarily work for Amnesty International, are trying to achieve. It becomes an excuse to cover for people’s misdeeds, something which is not acceptable.
So what really are the types of abuses we should be seriously concerned about?
Perhaps most current is the violent crushing of the Burmese monk-led democracy marches. But closer to home, on your own street, real abuses are taking place and you may not have noticed a thing. During 2003, more than seven incidents of domestic abuse against women were reported daily to Warwickshire Police. In the same year, nationally, two women per week were killed in domestic violence situations. And then there is the current issue of human trafficking into the UK, most frequently into the sex industry. These are the real human right abuses close to your home.
While out campaigning in Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth, the number of people who educate themselves on this issue is truly gratifying. On a recent Mid-Warwickshire Amnesty ‘Olympic sprint’ down Leamington’s Parade to highlight Chinese human rights abuses, the reaction was wonderful with even two random members of the public joining the event. We receive significant anonymous donations and many people willingly stop, discuss, self-educate and then take action.
However, the converse is that we are also regularly verbally abused for “getting the terrorists out”. So let’s get the record straight; that’s the opposite of what we are trying to achieve. We want the bad guys to be behind bars, whether they be violent Warwickshire husbands or rogue police units in the Brazillian flavellas. Or the oppressive dictatorships which order the murder of journalists, trade unionists, or indeed anyone else who wishes to voice a contrary opinion. Such events are daily global events, beyond most of our comprehension.
Article 29 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights can be paraphrased as “everyone has a duty to their own community, in which their freedom of expression and development should be unhindered, within a legal framework which itself must promote freedom and democracy”.
That is really what activists like me are fighting for. Your right to be a safe and free individual, irrespective of whether you live in Warwickshire or Burma.
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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