Foreign Policy Blogs

60 Years of Universal Rights

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December 10 was the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As usual, the leaders at the UN took the opportunity to remind the world's governments of their obligations and responsibilities to protect the most vulnerable. The Declaration's aim has been to ensure human rights for everyone – regardless of their race, gender, colour, sex, language, religion, or political opinion. Writing this blog has brought home just how many conflicts are based on religious grievances and how often human rights are violated on account of repression of religious minorities. As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has said, “For many people, the Universal Declaration remains an unfulfilled promise, as States’ political will to fulfill their obligations lags lamentably behind their pledges.” This has been particularly true with respect to religious minorities and freedom of conscience – as states can base their national identities on religious principles, sometimes leading to excessive intolerance.

 

Author

Karin Esposito

Karin Esposito is blogging on religion and politics from her base in Central Asia. Currently, she is the Project Manager for the Tajikistan Dialogue Project in Dushanbe. The Project is run through the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies with the support of PDIV of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The aim of the project is to establish practical mechanisms for co-existence and peaceful conflict resolution between Islamic and secular representatives in Tajikistan. After receiving a Juris Doctorate from Boston University School of Law in 2007, she worked in Tajikistan for the Bureau of Human Rights and later as a Visting Professor of Politics and Law at the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics, and Strategic Research (KIMEP). Ms. Esposito also holds a Master's in Contemporary Iranian Politics (2007) from the School of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iran and a Master's in International Relations (2003) from the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (GIIDS) in Switzerland.

Areas of Focus:
Islam; Christianity; Secularism;

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