Today, Sunday, the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the issuance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, as a result of horrific human rights violations in the Gaza Strip committed by Israel in full view of the world.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations called for a high-level activity at the UN building in Geneva over the course of 3 days from 10-12 December. The activity program will present 4 main topics for discussion about the future of human rights and their relationship to issues of security and peace, digital technology, development and economy, environment and climate. In addition to UN offices related to human rights, official delegations from member states and representatives of civil society organizations are scheduled to participate.
This comes at a time when one of the most horrific genocides is being carried out against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli occupation army, under Western international cover and blatant violations of international humanitarian law.
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said – in a celebration of the occasion yesterday – that Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories are the place where today the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is blatantly violated.
In a special statement to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Professor Camille Habib, professor of international law at the Lebanese University, said, “The Zionist war on Gaza has emptied the sources of international justice of their content,” expressing his disappointment in the ability of international organizations that sponsor international law to champion Palestinian rights, stressing that international law is… Leasing it in favor of the major powers 75 years after the issuance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Habib had posted on his account on the Zionism: There is no longer a need to teach these courses. The right to power is the master of the world.”
Hundreds of accounts on social media shared the Lebanese academic’s post, which reflected great disappointment in the possibility of applying international justice mechanisms in Palestine in light of the great Western international bias in favor of the Israeli occupation.
The United Nations celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights takes place just two days after the third failure of the UN Security Council to pass a draft resolution to demand a ceasefire due to the veto exercised by the United States, as the usual American intervention on behalf of the occupation over many decades caused Israel to escape from Punishment, and thwarting the implementation of the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the resulting international legal mechanisms to prevent human rights violations.
I apologize to my students at the Lebanese University because I was strict in teaching the courses on international law, international humanitarian law, and the United Nations. After the Zionist crimes in Gaza, there is no longer a need to teach these courses. The right to power is the master of the world
— Prof. Camille H. Habib (@camille_ha2) October 31, 2023
In this regard, Dr. Habib says that the American veto has always represented a decline in the application of international law, and he proposes force as an alternative to international justice mechanisms. In the context of his comment on the human rights situation in light of this war, 75 years after the issuance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the professor of law at the Lebanese University confirms that international humanitarian law is subject to double standards, and Gaza is a stark example of that, as he put it, stressing the existence of a gap between the slogan and the application.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was issued as the first international human rights document that represents a common understanding of humanity about what the desired world would look like after World War II. The 30-article declaration says in its first article: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” In its remaining articles, which have been translated into more than 500 languages, the Declaration represents the most agreed upon universal document in human history. It was issued in the wake of the greatest war in history, which claimed the lives of tens of millions, and alerted the world to the necessity of producing common principles on a global level without discrimination.
This declaration is considered a catalyst for many international agreements that were later signed by sovereign states, which formed what is known as the International Bill of Human Rights. While the Declaration itself is not considered law, it constitutes the customary principles cited when addressing issues of international human rights law.
Many human rights organizations and international legal experts have recently pointed out the failure of the international system to apply single and equal principles everywhere. This view deepened in light of the duality that characterized the European and American positions on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, compared to the failure of these countries to take a similar position on the occupation of the Palestinian territories.
In his comment to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Dr. Ihsan Adel, President of the Law for Palestine Organization, points out the urgent need to completely re-evaluate and push for a fundamental change in rescue mechanisms to ensure a more credible and stronger international response, as he described it.
Adel added that Palestine has always represented a real challenge to the mechanisms of international humanitarian law, as countries were closer to geopolitical considerations than to justice and international law. In light of the international commemoration of the 75th anniversary, Adel adds that all international justice mechanisms, including those emanating from the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which were established on the ruins of two world wars on the basis that the world would not allow these tragic scenes to be repeated, have become “faced with a major test in which they have ably failed.” “.
Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is distinguished by its neutral language and its formulation of general principles that represent basic freedoms and rights, socially, culturally, and economically for all peoples regardless of their races and cultural ethnicities, public belief in these principles has witnessed a profound decline in the street, which usually reduces the ability of international legal principles to hold Israel accountable.
In this regard, Dr. Adel points out the difficulty of the path to correcting the international legal system, but he stresses the importance of global public opinion and its crowds walking in the streets of world capitals today for the sake of Gaza, in correcting the defect and demanding comprehensive reforms within the legal framework to address systemic biases. He adds that this requires a collective commitment led by the countries of the Global South to support the principles of human rights, of which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights remains the ultimate document.
This Universal Declaration is considered a foundational text in the history of human rights and international law in this regard. It is also distinguished by its customary status, as it is repeatedly cited as the most common document among states, which has prompted many international law experts to consider its provisions to carry a customary legal obligation. All UN member states have signed at least one of the binding international agreements that emerged from the Declaration, while the vast majority have signed 4 or more agreements.
As the Israeli army continues to commit possible war crimes in Gaza, the United Nations is trying to overcome the political obstacles imposed by Washington and some Western powers in activating international justice mechanisms to prevent greater repercussions of the raging war against the besieged Strip. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, recently activated Article 99 of his organization’s Charter in an attempt to impose a ceasefire in Gaza. It is an article that gives the Secretary-General the authority to alert the Security Council to an issue that he believes threatens the maintenance of international peace and security.