Today, 10 December, is Human Rights Day, which marks the anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – this year is the 65th anniversary. The anniversary was marked in Uzbekistan by a conference on 24 October organised by the National Centre for Human Rights, which also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the UN’s presence in Uzbekistan. The conference was addressed by a range of Uzbek and international speakers, the latter including Professor Bill Bowring of Birkbeck College, University of London, a British lawyer and academic and a specialist in human rights law.
The Universal Declaration contains thirty articles setting out fundamental rights in four broad areas: the basic rights of the individual, rights of the individual in civil and political society, freedoms of thought, conscience, religion and association, and social, economic and cultural rights. These are not “Western” or rich-country values, but values that underpin any civilised society and any effective approach to economic and social development. The Universal Declaration became the basis and inspiration for many subsequent conventions on human rights issues, including the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and in the European context for the European Convention on Human Rights of 1953 which was passed into law in the UK through the Human Rights Act of 1998. In his excellent book “The Rule of Law”, former Lord Chief Justice Lord Bingham lists the key provisions of the Convention as covering the right to life, the prohibition of torture, the prohibition of slavery and forced labour, the right to liberty and security, the right to a fair trial, no punishment without law, the right to respect for private and family life, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, the right to marry, and the principle of non-discrimination.
Professor Bowring spoke about the British experience of implementing our international commitments, pointing to a number of areas where we still have further to go to reach the high standards we have set ourselves. It’s not always comfortable for us to hear criticism, but it’s right that the government should be held to account. In previous jobs, including as head of the Foreign Office’s Consular Assistance Group, which is responsible for support to British nationals who get into difficulties overseas, I have had to deal with criticism from NGOs, the media and members of the public – some of it justified, some of it not. While it can be frustrating, particularly if you and your colleagues have tried hard and think you’ve done a good job, it’s a healthy discipline and can help to make sure that you keep your standards high and make improvements both to how you do things and how you communicate what you do.
Today is also the day of Nelson Mandela’s memorial service. As Prime Minister David Cameron said, he was “a towering figure in our time; a legend in life and now in death – a true global hero”.