Saturday 10 December marks UN Human Rights Day, which commemorates the day on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
Speaking in London on the eve of her visit to Guatemala, the Minister at the Foreign Office with special responsibility for human rights, Baroness Anelay, said: “All around the world people’s human rights are under threat, so the role of civil society and human rights defenders has never been more important. A shrinking civil society harms a country’s stability, economic prospects and wider social development. Providing space for civil society to operate is therefore crucial to the spread and strengthening of democracy all around the world.
An active civil society is the hallmark of a mature society; one that is open to challenge and able to protect the rights of its citizens. Governments should not only allow but proactively nurture a healthy civil society. They should commend human rights defenders – not condemn them. This is the message that we will continue to promote both at home and abroad as we stand up for human rights.”
Promoting the respect of human rights around the world is a top priority in the United Kingdom’s foreign policy. Here in Guatemala the British Embassy is focusing in particular on the rights of girls and young women. While in Guatemala, Baroness Anelay will visit a project funded by the British Embassy which works with girls from marginal areas of the City where criminal gangs recruit vulnerable youngsters of both sexes. The project aims to encourage the girls to resist the gang culture by staying at school, and by helping boost their self-confidence so that they feel able to take their own decisions. The aim is to help them realise that there are alternatives to a life of violence, abuse and early pregnancy.
We will be tweeting and posting pictures on our Facebook page of Baroness Anelay’s visit to the project https://www.facebook.com/GlasswingGuatemala/