As we mark Human Rights Day this December
10, we should reflect on another important anniversary this year that has
been all but forgotten.

Ten years ago, in June 1993, the international community came together to
reaffirm its commitment to uphold universal values at the Vienna World
Conference on Human Rights. Overcoming tired old debates about cultural
relativism and the hierarchy of rights, representatives of more than 170
states declared "the universal nature of these rights and freedoms is
beyond question. All human rights are universal, indivisible,
interdependent and interrelated."

Those were days of great confidence and optimism for the human rights
movement. The Cold War had ended amidst a breathtaking wave of democratic
change in formerly authoritarian states. Long-term political prisoners
finally saw the light of day and even became presidents. The appointment
of a United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights promised new
leadership and vision for human rights on the world stage. Activists
mobilized worldwide around a wide range of human rights issues and their
voices were increasingly heard in the corridors of power.

In the years that followed, there were major steps forward for the human
rights cause. A new Convention on the Rights of the Child gained almost
universal acceptance. The Beijing Conference gave new attention to women's
rights. The tide turned internationally against forced disappearances,
torture and the death penalty. Landmines were banned and new efforts made
to stop child soldiering and the worst forms of child labor. Former
dictators finally faced justice and an international criminal court was
established to try the very worst human rights crimes when nations failed
to act. There was a new understanding of the centrality of human rights,
good governance and the rule of law to poverty reduction and sustainable
development. Business and other economic actors began to embrace the human
rights and social responsibility agenda.

But this was also the decade of Rwanda and Bosnia, where the ghosts of
genocide rose once again to haunt the international community. They were
years in which the world ignored, or sometimes fuelled, ongoing and brutal
conflicts in Colombia, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Chechnya,
the Great Lakes region and Afghanistan. A time when the gap between rich
and poor countries grew wider, when the stroke of a pen by trade and
finance officials could deprive millions of their livelihoods or basic
services in an increasingly globalized economy. It was a decade in which
the HIV/AIDS epidemic devastated communities and destroyed the lives of a
new generation. A period when millions of people were uprooted but faced
closed doors where once they found protection. A time that gave rise to
failed states, mutant regimes and new, nihilist forms of terrorism.

Then, since the terrible events of September 11, 2001, the human rights
cause has faced new challenges and threats. The threat of terrorism - a
crime against humanity when intended to kill large numbers of civilians -
still hangs over millions of people. Meanwhile, around the world,
governments have passed regressive anti-terrorism laws that threaten basic
rights. They have detained suspects without charge or due process and
transferred them between countries even where they risk torture or unfair
trial. In some places, those branded as terrorists have faced
assassination and extra-judicial execution.

Ten years ago at the Vienna Conference, human rights were being attacked
in the name of so-called "Asian values" that purported to put community
interests and public order ahead of individual rights. Governments were
arguing that economic and social development came first and civil and
political rights would follow.

Now those arguments have been largely dispelled, but governments are
attacking human rights on another old front, using the rhetoric of
counter-terrorism to justify abuses and crackdowns on their political
opponents. Where once western powers stood firm in their condemnation of
human rights abuses, today they resort to the same tactics themselves, or
offer a wink and a nod to repressive allies in the fight against
terrorism.

The international human rights system, built over decades by governments
themselves, has come under unprecedented strain. The Commission on Human
Rights, the world's highest human rights forum, has been largely hijacked
by abusive governments intent on screening themselves and each other from
international scrutiny. The expert mechanisms set up to monitor human
rights are overstretched and under political attack. The post of High
Commissioner for Human Rights remains vacant following the tragic death of
Sergio Vieira de Mello. The Security Council is failing to deliver on its
commitments to protect civilians in armed conflict and post-conflict
transition. And the United States is pursuing an ideological vendetta
against the International Criminal Court.

So this Human Rights Day should be a time of reflection, rededication and
renewal. Reflection on the fragility of progress and the challenges faced
by our movement. Rededication to defending the human rights cause and the
important gains that have been made. And renewal of the international
machinery that can counter human rights abuse and ensure the commitments
that governments made ten years ago in Vienna become a reality.

Human Rights Watch Press release