By Raju Prabath Lankaloka
Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10th December. The day marks the adaptation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.
The UDHR is hailed as the common standard which was set to be achieved by the member states of the United Nations to ensure the Rights of people. However, the states have the liberty of adapting it accordingly to their interest and may not oblige to all the clauses mentioned under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. None of the countries, not even the ones who appear to be the front liners in defending Human Rights has adopted the entire declaration.
The United Nations was established after the second world war in 1945. Similar to the League of Nations, its failed predecessor, the UN has also proven its failure within its lifespan.
The UN is governed by the main imperial powers, and can only act when these powers agree. Therefore, it works only to promote the interests of the capitalist class in general and imperialist powers in particular.
In the UN is the General Assembly, all recognized nations get one vote, and therefore a number of resolutions have passed against the will of the US and other major powers. The US blockade of Cuba has, for example, been condemned by innumerable resolutions of the Assembly, starting in 1993, but this hasn’t prevented the US from continuing the embargo, deepening it and extending it to other countries.
The reality of the UN falls far short of its noble image. The claim that the UN has the power, if used, to secure peace – despite the enormous conflicts of interest we see everywhere in the world – is simply not true.
From more than 300 armed conflicts to Millennium development goals and sustainable development goals, the profile of the United Nations only screams failure after failure.
Evidently, the UN has no power or interests of its own to somehow stop the endless violence of capitalism. The UN only facilitates endless rounds of doomed negotiations between powers who will never agree because they have opposing interests.
There is no magic power to the discussions hosted by the UN. They merely serve as instruments for buying time and diplomatic cover for the imperial designs of the capitalist powers. An imperialist action is no less imperialist because it has the approval of the other imperial powers through the negotiations at UN. A UN resolution is only there to sow the illusion that the war is just.
The UN Human Rights Commission is also an instrument, working according to the whims and fancies of the Western imperialist powers. The powerful western countries talk about the human rights of other countries not really to protect the rights of the people of those countries, but as a way of exerting pressure on those countries, in order to advance their foreign policy. They never care about human rights if it suits their imperialist needs. Israel’s violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people, Saudi Arabia’s massacre of the Yemeni people by using massive military power, and the human rights violations committed by all the countries in the Middle East, which are friendly with the imperialists are just a few examples that can be given in that regard.
The thematic area for this year’s celebration is “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All”. As stated in the launching remarks of Human Rights Day in the United Nations “the promise of the UDHR, of dignity and equality in rights, has been under a sustained assault in recent years. As the world faces challenges new and ongoing – pandemics, conflicts, exploding inequalities, morally bankrupt global financial system, racism, climate change “. Their very own words show that 75 years of adapting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has not made the conditions of the masses better but contradictory it is on the path of worsening.
Capitalism has no interest or regard for the rights of the people but maximizing their profit. Over the years, social inequality has only grown and has paved the way for many discriminations and violations of the fundamental rights of individuals. The workers are not treated equally and are deprived of questioning and demanding their rights. The rising question of from whom we demand the right to live has become a question today. As the living conditions are getting worse by the day, the very right for life has become questionable. Therefore, it is time we put an end to the blind faith in institutions and stand in the fight for socialism.
The United Nations or any other institution has no power or interests of its own to somehow stop the endless violence of capitalism. Such violence can only end by overthrowing capitalism and establishing socialism. Therefore, the elimination of the class society where a classless society is based upon solidarity and the harmonious satisfaction of everyone’s needs is the only way forward.
