Human rights in the context of crisis

Reduction of State responsibility in the promotion of human rights reinforces the role of civil organisations

XV Coloquio DH. Conectas. Mesa1.

by Fidel Forato e Pâmela Ellen*

 

When a State reduces provisions and, consequently, becomes ineffective to promote human rights, the role of civil society organisations turns out increasingly relevant. This is one of the high points, which is faced globally in the area of ??human rights, communicated on the opening day of the 15th International Colloquium on Human Rights.

 

In addition to the delegates of the four organisers of the Colloquium, the opening session, held this Monday morning, October 2, 2017 at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo, was attended by Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty, and discussed the global context and its impacts on human rights.

“If we look at what is happening in the world, we see most of the States are trying to save on their social responsibilities. This also means a decrease in State’s capacity to uphold human rights. This inability is further magnified with increasing inequalities, especially, on the economic spectrum, because in today’s world, moral and social values are strictly financially-biased.” said Alston.

Alston stressed on the importance of using social media and other technology as tools to disseminate and de-stigmatise what truly human rights stand for. According to him, internet provides a promising environment of articulation between human rights groups and allows people to have rooms to express themselves, lobby responsible bodies and uncover relevant facts in their countries.

The rapporteur’s speech evidently made apparent that there is a need for alliance to prevent disappointments in the area of human rights. Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito of Dejusticia, emphasised that collaboration makes actions more efficient, and John Samuel, of Forum Asia, added that “we have the moral and political responsibility to do more than what the state is doing and make a difference.”

About the Colloquium

Between October 2 and 6, 80 human rights activists from 31 countries are gathering in São Paulo for the 15th International Human Rights Colloquium. The objective of the event is to discuss the theme “Human rights: crisis or transition?”, share experiences and propose solutions to face setbacks at local, regional and global levels.

This year, Conectas organises the meeting with Forum Asia (Thailand), the Human Rights Centre of the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and Dejusticia (Colombia). The event is supported by Ford Foundation, OAK Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Channel Foundation and The Fund For Global Human Rights. We also thank the FGV (Fundação Getúlio Vargas), the Memorial of the Resistance, APAC (Associação Pinacoteca Arte e Cultura), the Immigration Museum and the government of the State of São Paulo, that generously provided with the venues for the meetings.

*Fidel Forato, and Pamela Ellen are volunteer journalists from the coverage group of the 15th International Human Rights Colloquium. English translation by Partha Sarker, a refugee from Bangladesh.