Human Rights Law Defenders - Introduction

Welcome to our site!

When we registered in the 2009 Doors to Diplomacy Competition, we immediately noticed the social issues category. We are both passionate defenders of Human Rights and we are really interested in educating and letting everyone know what is happening around the world.

International Human Rights is a very complex issue and involves lots of explaining. This is what we tried to achieve; we tried to explain what Human Rights Law is in a simple and coherent way.

We think that to understand the atrocities that are being committed in many countries in the world, we need to know what is guaranteed to us by International Law. We all have the duty to find out what those rights are. We have the moral duty to defend them, and spread the word to others that don’t know, particularly young people like us.

We live in a world where everyone is supposed to be protected and have equal rights, but sadly this is not a reality in many corners of the Earth. Uganda is one of these corners. About a year ago, we saw the documentary Invisible Children, and we were able to see the injustices and the violence that is present in Uganda.




[The video above is taken from GoogleVideo, where the filmmakers made it available for embedding into other websites. We thank them for their generosity and for their dedication to documenting human rights abuses in Africa.]


This touched our hearts and it is time to spread the word and do something about it.

Our purpose is to help young people understand what is right and what is wrong; to let the world know that rights which are assured to us by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are being routinely denied to civilians.

We also want everyone to know that violating the rights of a child is one of the worst realities that exist in our world. There are many ways that we can all contribute to spreading the word and helping the cause.

Get educated, learn, and stick around to find out more!

Remember:
“It’s no big deal; it’s just the future of humanity.”

Bibliography - Get informed! Get involved!

These resources helped us learn about Human Rights; we're sure they'll help you too! Explore our posts and then check these links out. But remember: TAKE ACTION!

"Appendix 3: A Human Rights Glossary." University of Minnesota. 24 Mar. 2009 http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Part-5/6_glossary.htm.

"BBC - Nottingham - People - Helping child soldiers." BBC - Homepage. 24 Mar. 2009 .
"BBC NEWS Africa Country profiles Timeline: Uganda." BBC NEWS News Front Page. 24 Mar. 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1069181.stm.

"BBC NEWS Africa Profile: Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony." BBC NEWS News Front Page. 24 Mar. 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5146662.stm.

"CIA - The World Factbook -- Uganda." Welcome to the CIA Web Site — Central Intelligence Agency. 24 Mar. 2009 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ug.html#Govt.

"Derechos Human Rights Links: Uganda." Derechos Human Rights: Human Rights Links. 24 Mar. 2009 http://www.derechos.net/links/geo/africa/uganda.html.

"FACT SHEET: Republic of Uganda at a Glance." Welcome to the FHP&R Website! 24 Mar.
2009 http://deploymentlink.osd.mil/deploy/info/africa/uganda/index.shtml.

"History of human rights." UDHR. 24 Mar. 2009 http://www.universalrights.net/main/histof.htm.

"Human Rights: History of Human Rights." Oracle ThinkQuest Library. 24 Mar. 2009 http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126065/hrhistory.html.

"Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)." GlobalSecurity.org - Reliable Security Information. 24 Mar. 2009 http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/lra.htm.

The United Nations Today. New York: United Nations Department of Public Information, 2008.

"The Official Website: State House, Republic of Uganda." Welcome To The State House Of The Republic Of Uganda. 24 Mar. 2009 http://www.statehouse.go.ug/president.php?category=The+President.

"A Short History of Human Rights." University of Minnesota. 24 Mar. 2009 http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Part-1/short-history.htm.

"Uganda Human Rights." Amnesty International USA - Protect Human Rights. 24 Mar. 2009 http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/uganda/page.do?id=1011260.

"UN rights chief decries." Welcome to the UN. It's your world. 24 Mar. 2009 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=29675&Cr=LRA&Cr1.

"UNICEF - Convention on the Rights of the Child - Promoting and protecting rights for children." UNICEF - UNICEF Home. 24 Mar. 2009 http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_30168.html.

"UNICEF - Convention on the Rights of the Child -." UNICEF - UNICEF Home. 24 Mar. 2009 http://www.unicef.org/crc/.

Welcome to the UN. It's your world. 24 Mar. 2009 http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/briefing/soldiers/soldiers.pdf.


Back: Conclusion
Return to Intro

Conclusion: What you can do!

After finishing this project, we have learned a lot – from what constitutes the Human Rights Law to Uganda’s history to the devastating realization that Child Soldiers are still present in the time that we are living in. After all, we feel that our purpose has been achieved. We have explained, informed and learned about all aspects on international human rights. We feel that what is left to say is to give ways so that you can help too.

The first step is to be informed, which you have already done.

Use your talents! Last year one school did a walk commute for the children of Uganda in which many students stayed in a school for twelve hours and walked, similar to what children in Uganda have to do to survive and to be safe from the rebels. This activity raised money and created awareness throughout our community. There are many other ways in which one can help; for example by means of fundraisers to help the needy and the impoverished. Remember: start locally. Get your friends and family involved.

One can donate money, but if that is not an option, community service is also available. One can join the Peace Corps or any other volunteer institution. I’m sure they would be grateful for any assistance, and would welcome individual and community initiatives.

We need to ensure the people their deserved and inherent rights. We all are created equal and have the right to live peacefully. We feel that the fulfillment of these rights in those unlucky corners of the Earth should be a priority in everyone’s mind.

We have the tools to make a difference!

You have the tools to make a difference!

So let’s start making a difference today.


Child Soldiers

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), a child soldier is defined as “a person under the age of 18 who directly or indirectly participates in an armed conflict as part of an armed force or group.” See the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

Children are easy targets to become child soldiers because they can easily be manipulated. Also, because of their circumstances such as having limited food or water supplies and limited education, many kids see becoming a child soldier as a way to survive.

In Uganda, Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony has created his army primarily through the violent abduction and forced enlistment of children. Child soldiers are forced to commit horrific acts because it is what they have been trained to do; it can be said that the children are being “brainwashed” to kill. As Anna Stickley, a British occupational therapist who has worked with child soldiers, described, “Some children were forced to kill, ambush villages, abduct other children and [even] kill their own families.”
"I did not kill anyone for the first four days of my captivity and then, on the fifth day, they said I had to prove I wasn't scared, they took me back to my village and ordered me to kill my father. At first, I said no, I can't kill my father, but then they said they'd kill us all and started beating me with a panga [machete]. I took the panga and cut him up. I then saw them do it to my mother. The first night, I was haunted by visions of my father as I tried to sleep. I could only cry silent tears as the rebels could not know that I regretted what I had done. They do it so that you can't go back home." Child soldier quoted by independent journalist Euan Delholm for Amnesty International.

Once under Kony’s authority these children are forced to commit violent tortures and it is almost impossible to escape. If a child soldier does manage to escape, the process of reentering a normal life is very hard. The United Nations and many countries have begun to send aid for ex-child soldiers in order to rehabilitate them and help them adapt to the society that they abandoned when they became child soldiers.

The circumstances and the atrocities that child soldiers are forced to endure go against everything that the “Rights of a Child” stands for. (Look at the Right of a Child tab to find out more!) At an age when children are supposed to be enjoying life and getting an education, child soldiers are denied that privilege. Instead they suffer from brutal hardships that no one --whether a child or even an adult-- should face.


As he marched for days through the bush without food or water, armed with an AK-47 to loot and to kill, Bosco Ojok dared not dream of going home. Just 14 when he was abducted near his northern Ugandan house by the Lord's Resistance Army, he never said a word to anyone about escaping from the rebels' world-renowned campaign of terror, which included cutting off the lips, ears and noses of civilians as they fought the government. If anyone heard, the frightened teen knew, it would mean his swift execution... continue reading this story by Time Magazine's Laura Blue and Jonathan Woodward...


The LRA, Uganda’s Government, and the issue of child soldiers

The Ugandan government used to aid Sudanese rebels. In turn, the Sudanese government supported the Lord’s Resistance Army by providing them with weapons. Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, even denominated Joseph Kony as a “bandit.” However, during the past years the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and Uganda’s government have had several talks like for example the Juba Peace Talks in 2006. Through time, Uganda’s government and the LRA have been able to reduce the fighting for the sake of the country. As reported by a February 23, 2008 article in BBC News, “The Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army have signed a permanent ceasefire, the latest step aimed at ending more than two decades of war.”

But, why should we care?

We should care, not just about the restoration of peace, but also because of the plight of thousands of children forced into soldiering. Even though the problem concerning child soldiers is still at issue today, little has been heard of any agreements between the LRA and the Ugandan government concerning the future of these lost children. See also The Child Soldiers Global Report 2008 on Uganda.


Back: LRA
Next: Child soldiers
Return to Intro

Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)

When the National Resistance Army (NRA) took power in Uganda in 1986, a movement led by Joseph Kony appeared; it is called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

This group believes that for Uganda to be a better state it must follow the Ten Commandments. Ironically, the LRA has broken all of them.

The group is known for tortures, abductions, and for enslaving children. As Time Magazine reported in 2007:
The rebels have spread terror throughout northern Uganda by massacring and disfiguring civilians, regularly cutting off the noses and ears, cheeks and lips and eyelids of their victims. The group has also abducted an estimated 25,000 children to serve as soldiers, porters and sex slaves.

Uganda’s History

A Timeline
1894 Uganda was declared a British Protectorate.

1962 After nearly 70 years of British rule, it achieved independence. Milton Obote became the prime minister.

1966 Milton Obote suspended the constitution and gave the executive position greater powers.

1971 Obote was removed from power by Idi Amin’s armed forces in a military coup. Amin dissolved parliament and gave himself absolute power. This produced economic decline within the country and many violations to human right laws.

1986 The National Resistance Army (NRA) took the capital, Kampala, and appointed Yoweri Museveni as president. His presidency has been unique. It started out by seizing power, but Museveni’s administration has stood for elections, redacted a constitution, and introduced many policies regarding health and education. See also Uganda's official website.

Since the NRA took power, Uganda has been under constant strife with insurgents, particularly the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Although this prolongued civil war has killed thousands and left millions displaced, Uganda’s government has recently been in talks with the LRA in order to establish peace within the country. See also this 2007 Time Magazine article on the process of reconciliation with the LRA.


Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Children

The role of governments, families and children
Governments are obligated to recognize the full spectrum of human rights for all children as well as to consider children in legislative and policy decisions. While many nations are beginning to pay close attention to children's views on many important issues, the process of change is still in its earliest stages.

Children have a right to express their opinions and have their views taken seriously and given due weight. But children also have the responsibility of respecting the rights of others, particularly those of their parents.

The Convention specifically refers to the family as the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of its members. Under the Convention, nations are forced to respect parents' primary responsibilities for providing care and guidance for children and to support parents in this regard by providing material assistance and support programs. States are also obligated to prevent children from being separated from their families unless the separation is necessary for the child's best interests.

References:
http://www.unicef.org/crc/
http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_30168.html


What does the Declaration say? How is it assembled?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is divided into several parts.

The first two articles state that “all human beings are born equal in dignity and rights” and are entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration “without distinction of any kind such as race color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”.

Articles III through XXI set forth the civil and political rights to which all human beings are entitled, including:

Articles XX through XXVII set forth the economic, social and cultural rights to which all human beings are entitled. Among these are the right to social security, the right to work, the right to education, and the rights to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being.

Finally, Articles XXVIII to XXX recognize that everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the human rights set forth in the Declaration may be fully realized.


Rights of a Child

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social-- and extend them specifically to children.

In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that adults do not need. The leaders also wanted to make sure that the world recognized that children have human rights too.

The Convention sets out these rights in 54 articles and two Optional Protocols. It spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere should have:
  • the right to survival;
  • to develop to the fullest;
  • to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and
  • to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.
The four core principles of the Convention are:
  • non-discrimination;
  • devotion to the best interests of the child;
  • the right to life, survival and development; and
  • respect for the views of the child.
Every right spelled out in the Convention is inherent to the human dignity and harmonious development of every child. The Convention protects children's rights by setting standards in health care, education, social, and legal and civil services.

By ratifying or acceding to the Convention, national governments have committed themselves to protect and ensure children's rights and also agreed to hold themselves accountable for this commitment before the international community. Every country is obliged to develop and undertake all actions and policies in the light of the best interests of the child.


What Comprises the Human Rights Law?

The Universal Declaration, together with the two Covenants on Human Rights, comprises the International Bill of Human Rights; in other words, the Human Rights Law.

In effect, the Human Rights Law includes:

· The United Nations Charter (adopted by the General Assembly in 1945 at the foundation of the United Nations Organization)

o The Preamble to the UN Charter reaffirms “faith in the fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and woman and of nations large and small”.

o Article I establishes that the United Nations has to promote and encourage “respect for the human rights and for fundamental freedom for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”

· The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted by the General Assembly in 1948).
o This declaration is composed of 30 articles that delineate out the basic civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights that all human beings in every country should enjoy.

There are two legally binding agreements negotiated under United Nations auspices. These are the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

o These two agreements take provisions of the Declaration a step further by translating these rights into legally binding commitments.

In addition, the United Nations has adopted many other standards and rules on the protection of human rights such as:

· The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders – which protects the work of human rights defenders around the world

· The Declaration to the Right to Development – established the right to development as “an inalienable human right by virtue” (The UN Today 245)

· The Declaration on the Right of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities – proclaims the right of minorities to enjoy their own culture

These “declarations”, “codes of conduct,” and “principles” are not treaties to which states become signatories, but they do have profound influence because they are thoughtfully drafted and adopted by a consensus in which all states participate.


What is the Human Rights Law? How is it appplied?

The Human Rights Law is a “universal and internationally protected code to which all nations can subscribe and to which all people can aspire” (The UN Today 239).

The United Nations has defined a broad range of internationally accepted economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as, political and civil rights. These rights have been extended through many decisions that have established the universality, indivisibility, and interrelatedness with the development of a country.

The rights are universal because they are supposed to encompass every human being and also because every nation has the obligation not to infringe on the rights of the population.

The rights are indivisible and interdependent because it is hard to ensure some rights at the expense of other rights.

Finally, all of the rights are interrelated with the development of a country because it is the tendency to see less developed countries as the ones that infringe in the Human Rights Law. These countries do not have the resources to ensure its population their rights, thus they are mostly living in poverty and in unsanitary conditions.

The United Nations has also established mechanisms to promote and protect all human rights and to assist governments in carrying out their responsibilities. The UN’s role and scope in promoting and protecting human rights has continued to expand through education campaigns that have informed the public of their inalienable rights, and by enhancing the judicial and penal systems of many nations. The United Nations is at work on many aspects of this front:
  • Global conscience
  • Lawmaking
  • Monitoring
  • Defending
  • Researching
  • Serving as a mediator between countries
The Organization’s machinery to monitor compliance with human rights’ treaties has acquired cohesiveness among nations because of the enthusiasm the defense of human rights has gained in the last years.

We were very pleased to find out that virtually every United Nations Organization body and specialized agency is involved in the protection of human rights such as the Security Council, the General Assembly, the International Court of Justice, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

However, there are still some injustices being committed. We will highlight the case of Uganda.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)