December 10 marks the International Human Rights Day. The day also marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted anonymously in 1948.

This year, the ongoing conflict in various parts of the world including the Gaza crisis, the Ukraine war, the ongoing economic recession in the post-pandemic recovery stage, and the growing friction within the global societies on confronting values are further complicating our 74-year-old commitment to Human rights. On this auspicious occasion, it is worth revisiting the contemporary challenges that we are facing in upholding human rights.

Contemporary Challenges
Perhaps, the ceaseless conflicts in the different parts of the world are one of the major challenges. The ground offensive taking place in Gaza has already taken the precious lives of about 15 thousand civilians within two months. Human rights have been violated in every aspect in the world’s largest prison for the last two months now.

The stalemate in Ukraine is another concern for ensuring human rights. Apart from deaths of thousands and internal displacement of 5.3 million, the war and subsequent sanctions have caused economic disruption worldwide.

The latest military coups in several African countries also bring a threat to Africa’s ‘already miserable’ democracy and human rights. The ongoing civil war in Sudan further complicates the situation.

Beyond these, the growing intolerance, discrimination, and rightwing politics are also posing serious threats to our human rights commitment. The rejuvenation of far-right politics and the supremacist ideas nurtured in the society are translating into hate crimes, intolerance, racial discrimination, and anti-immigrant policies.

In the age of neoliberal capitalism, food security is another concern. The uneven purchasing power and import capabilities of the countries are posing a severe threat to basic rights. The monopoly of big agricultural corporations over seeds and the use of Genetically Modified Organs (GMOs) further increases food insecurity. Inequality and economic recession are also challenging education, health, and nutrition.

Democratic backsliding is another contemporary challenge to human rights. The global democratic backslide is increasing disregard for human rights and authoritarianism. Authoritarian governments’ policies are violating human rights. Lastly, the technologies we are inventing and using are also challenging human rights as data protection and misuse of social media remain serious threats.

Human Rights and Bangladesh
Improving Human Rights is a continuous process. In spirit, Bengali as a nation believes in the core values of human rights. These values are enshrined in Bangladesh’s Constitution. Since independence, Bangladesh is gradually improving its human rights.

In the arena of labor rights, Bangladesh has reduced child labor successfully. While becoming a Developing Country, Bangladesh is also implementing a labor reform gradually.

In the meantime, Bangladesh is working on ensuring a safe environment for women who used to remain at home owing to then-prevailed conservatism. At present, a large number of women are joining the workforce at various levels depicting strong women empowerment.

Despite remarkable successes, confrontational politics and subsequent violence remain a serious challenge for Bangladesh. Political violence is unfit for any progressive society. The adverse impacts of corruption and weak institutions often translate into the denial of rights by state apparatus for the citizens.

Even though Bangladesh achieved remarkable success in many socio-economic aspects, the overall human rights situation still needs to improve a lot to fulfill the commitment of UDHR. Bangladesh still needs to work more on improving freedom of the press and expression and avoid confrontational politics, and abuse of power. To accelerate improvement, human development- a relatively new idea of development needs to be prioritized.

Current Debate in Human Rights Discourse
In the age of information and the free flow of knowledge, there are several debates worldwide. The constructive discussions of these debates are enriching our discourse on human rights. But at the same time, rigidity in ideas regarding these issues is also creating distances between the East and the West.

Firstly, the universality of the idea of human rights is being challenged in academia. Across time, space, and culture, it seems human rights may not be ‘one size fits all’ in every circumstance.

Perhaps, the political use of human rights in the US foreign policy is a new debate that emerged very recently. Many critical scholars are pointing out that the US democracy and human rights policy is subordinated to its national interest and hence it has ‘weaponized’ human rights. There are many inconsistencies in the US policy which are strategically motivated such as overlooking Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.

Furthermore, the ongoing invasion in Gaza and global critical opinion regarding Israel’s action have again resurfaced the debate on the limit of freedom of speech and expression. While many countries in the West banned pro-Palestine protests citing anti-semitism, many are asking whether questioning Israel’s apartheid regime is an anti-semitic act or not.

Lastly, there is a growing concern over Artificial Intelligence (AI).  While AI has the potential to contribute greatly to civilisational development, this new technology could become a tool for violating human rights.

To conclude, the issues and challenges the world is facing today need to be resolved to fulfil our commitment. For that, the world community must come together. The first step towards this could be accepting the socio-cultural differences, creating a consensus, and giving up the inconsistent practices. This auspicious celebration should remind us of our commitment to implementing UDHR. “A promise made is a promise kept.”
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The writer is a retired government official