By Salomón Lerner F., former President of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Chancellor Emeritus of the Catholic University (PUCP).
Every 10th of December we commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly. Sixty-four years have passed since this took place and since then many advances have been made in this area. It is true that abuses and atrocities still occur daily in numerous societies across the world. But at the same time we need to recognise that important changes have taken place on the international stage. One measure of how much has changed is the consensus that now exists in contemporary society on its obligation to protect and guarantee the integrity and dignity of all people, regardless of their status and whatever the circumstances.
This consensus doesn’t prevent abuses from occurring and doesn’t prevent some states from overlooking the rights of their citizens. Armed conflicts and other events in recent years show people in authority frequently violating human rights in order to defend their positions. One could argue that the international community does not yet have enough power or the right mechanisms to prevent them from doing so.
At the same time, it is important that we take note of the fact that a wealth of legislation and institutions have been developed and built up over the last few decades that focus specifically on strengthening adherence to human rights principles. We can now talk about “humanitarian law”, a complex interlinking of different legal frameworks and, most importantly, judicial decisions. International human rights law, international humanitarian law, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and other bodies of norms have progressively changed our view on what can be done in defence of human dignity and, through changing our perspective on what is possible, our sense of personal obligation has also changed. Today it is not enough for a state simply to make a declaration in support of the protection of human rights. Rather states are legally obliged to take concrete action to uphold these rights. At the same time society has to commit to taking on its own ethical and legal commitments more seriously.
It would be unwise of us to believe that the battle to defend human rights is one that only need be fought in the courthouse. The fact is that this is a much broader and more complex responsibility that crosses boundaries between states and within societies. If, as is evident, the ideals of human rights also cover personal dignity, then issues of exclusion, discrimination, poverty and lack of access to opportunities are also of paramount importance.
Accepting this, it is ever more clear that the legal framework to tackle really serious crimes needs to be complimented by a big advance in understanding of the breadth of the concept of “development”. The notion of human development – which is much more than the celebration only of economic growth – becomes a cross cutting political and legislative guiding norm which cannot be overlooked when working towards a more inclusive world. Whilst putting a stop to violence and creating environments that meet man’s need for dignity are ambitious and at first glance pretty much unachievable aims, in the last few decades we have made progress, in my opinion, at least in better identifying our obligations and the means to meet these. We must continue with our efforts.