We can end AIDS – if everyone’s rights are protected. On Zero Discrimination Day, 1 March, we celebrate the right of everyone to live a full and productive life—and live it with dignity. This year is the tenth anniversary of Zero Discrimination Day. Upholding everyone’s rights is the responsibility of us all. Everyone can play a part in ending discrimination. On 1 March, and during the whole month of March, events, activities and messages will remind the world of this vital lesson and call to action: to protect everyone’s health, protect everyone’s rights.

“I think it’s a false premise that human rights are dead. To some extent, I think its being promulgated by naysayers and people who have given up on the framework,” said Eleanor Kennedy, senior policy expert from the Open Society Foundation (OSF) in this episode of Voices of Dignity: Pathways to Justice by UN Human Rights.

Last year, OSF put out “Can Democracy Deliver?” a first of its kind look at attitudes and opinions toward all aspects of democracy and human rights. Kennedy said the report brought up many surprising and challenging attitudes regarding human rights and its mechanisms, including if current human rights frameworks actually were delivering on their promises.

But one idea that came through loud and clear in the report, Kennedy stressed, was that the rumours of the demise of human rights has been greatly exaggerated.

Amidst the escalating crisis in Gaza, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People is holding a critical meeting to elect new members, with the UN Secretary-General presiding. The meeting will also adopt the 2024 Programme of Work and hear from high-profile dignitaries. Following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 and Israel's intensive military response in Gaza, the Committee's role in advocating for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people is more urgent than ever in its quest to promote the two-State solution and a path toward a just peace and stability in the region.

For Iveth, the intersection of singing hip-hop and being a lawyer and human rights activist is seamless, as hip-hop's legacy of using music for protest and advocating change deeply influenced her perspective on social justice.

On 15 April 1967 a delegation led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. met with Ralph Bunche and other top UN officials to present a petition calling for an immediate and peaceful solution to the Vietnamese Conflict (1961-1975).

Over the past 30 years, children’s lives have been transformed by the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. The Convention on the Rights of the Child has inspired governments to change laws and policies, so more children get the healthcare and nutrition they need and are better protected from violence and exploitation. But there is still more work to be done. The Committee on the Rights of the Child monitors implementation of the Convention by its States parties. The Committee is starting the first of its 3 annual sessions to review States parties reports.

The stories of these young human rights champions serve as a source of inspiration, motivating others to take action and educate their communities on the importance of human rights.

"Justice gives relief not only to the victims, but to a prosecutor as well. So that is what keeps you upright and keeps you going on and says, okay, it is meaningful what you're doing."

Christian Ritscher’s work brings him into contact with some of humanity’s worst outrages. As head of the UN investigative team to promote accountability for the crimes committed by ISIL in Iraq, he seeks justice for victims of the notoriously violent terror group.

The Islamic State, or ISIL, stands accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Iraq’s Yazidi community were among those worst hit.

In this episode Christian Ritscher reflects on the impact on survivors, the difficulty of gathering testimony and on keeping faith in humanity when faced with its darkest acts.

Photo: ©UNITAD

Human rights education refers to a wide range of educational programmes and activities that aim to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes, enabling learners to exercise their human rights and respect and uphold the rights of others. For Elena Ippoliti, coordinator of Human Rights Education and Training at UN Human Rights, human rights education represents an important investment to build a just, peaceful and sustainable future that is consistent with human rights principles. By encouraging inclusion and participation, preventing conflict and promoting values, such as solidarity and empathy, human rights education has the power to bring change.

"There is an increase in the use of torture worldwide. It's partly correlated to the fact that [...] we have more wars going on in this world since 1945. The International Committee of the Red Cross says there are 100 armed conflicts currently going on. And regrettably, with armed conflict comes an uptick in the use of torture and other forms of inhuman treatment."

Dr. Alice Jill Edwards spends many of her days listening to the testimonies of torture victims. Now the UN’s Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, she works towards a world in which torture is finally a thing of the past.

"I rebuke the argument that it's a natural coalescence because I think disciplined troops do not torture."

In this episode, Dr. Alice Jill Edwards reflects on the challenge of holding states to their commitments, the visible and invisible scars torture leaves behind, and on the need to recharge without guilt.

Photo: ©United Nations

Nobel Literature Laureate Wole Soyinka delivered an address in 1993 to the World Conference on Human Rights as a ‘special guest’ of the UN Secretary-General.

As we mark the 75th anniversary of the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warns in this UN Chronicle article, that "we are still far from the world envisaged by the Declaration’s framers and find ourselves contending with a determined pushback on rights". He says this is "so horrifically illustrated by the unbearable suffering in recent weeks in Gaza and Israel". But he is hopeful that we can find in the Declaration's enduring promise of rights rooted in our common values, a path towards peace and inclusive development, based on free and meaningful participation.

The UN Prize in the Field of Human Rights is an honorary award given to individuals and organizations for outstanding achievement in human rights. It was established by the General Assembly in 1966 and has been awarded several times. The reward not only recognizes the accomplishments of the recipients but also supports human rights defenders worldwide. Among the 2023 recipients are an NGO from Belarus, an independent Center for Human Rights Studies from Jordan, a Global Coalition of civil society organizations and two human rights defenders from Uruguay and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“In Syria, I was really struck by this lack of revenge. I haven't seen many people wanting revenge. They want justice. And that's really a very powerful attitude.”

A former judge, Catherine Marchi-Uhel spent a lifetime pursuing justice. Now leading the quest for accountability for atrocities and war crimes committed in the Syrian civil war, she finds comfort in survivors’ resilience and their determination to move on with their lives. Since 2016, the UN’s IIIM (International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism) has been helping investigate and prosecute the most serious atrocities committed in Syria during the devastating conflict.

In this episode, Catherine Marchi-Uhel reflects on the painstaking job of documenting brutality, the importance of preserving evidence, and how she keeps faith in the face of humanity’s darkest crimes.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk's message to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.