Credits: Medes Malaihollo
By Antenor Hallo de Wolf; Melanie Schneider; Beatriz Gomes Batista; and Aila Naysmith
Introduction
The adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 1948 marked the beginning of the modern system of protection of human rights at the international level. Since then, so much has happened in the field of human rights. In recognition of the 75th Anniversary of the UDHR, the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research (NNHRR) held its annual research day (Toogdag) on the 29th and 30th of June 2023 at the University of Groningen, to reflect on the past, present, and future of the Declaration. Toogdag 2023, which was co-organised by the University of Groningen and Maastricht University, served as a follow-up to a workshop held at the latter university in 1988, which reflected on the UDHR’s 40th anniversary. Against this background, and to reflect on what has happened in the last 35 years, a number of junior and senior members of the NNHRR gave various presentations discussing the achievements and impact of the UDHR, as well as the challenges facing the Declaration and human rights in general in the coming years.
Looking Back: the UDHR’s first 75 years
Toogdag 2023 opened with a speech by the NNHRR’s Chairperson of the Steering Committee, Jasper Krommendijk (University of Nijmegen), who highlighted the importance of the Toogdag as one of the main and various activities organised and sponsored by the NNHRR. He noted the Toogdag’s function of facilitating the gathering of all the Network’s junior and senior research members, as well as providing a platform to showcase their research. He also announced that the NNHRR’s mandate for the coming years has been renewed by the participating universities of the Network, considering the positive appraisal of the Network’s work and activities. Krommendijk’s opening speech was followed by a special video message from Prof. Theo van Boven (Maastricht University). In his video message, Prof. van Boven underlined the importance of the UDHR and provided several examples of the ups and downs that the Declaration has experienced in the last 75 years. These examples related to various rights found in the UDHR, and which relate, amongst others, to the protection of human life in relationship with the death penalty, the refugee crisis and the prohibition of torture. He also touched upon discrimination based on sex and biological differences, which has come to include the prohibition of direct and indirect discrimination based on gender, focusing on negative gender stereotypes and harmful practices. Finally, he highlighted developments related to the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights, the notion of universality of human rights, the issue of reparations for violations of human rights, and the problem of extreme poverty in the context of the right to an adequate standard of living.
Following up on the Toogdag 2023 opening speeches, a round table discussion chaired by Dr. Jennifer Selin (Maastricht University) looked back at the past of the UDHR. The roundtable discussion was panelled by Prof. Brigit Toebes (University of Groningen), Prof. Cees Flinterman (Maastricht University), and Prof. Nico Schrijver (University of Leiden), and centred around a reflection on the UDHR’s role and impact in the last 75 years.
Prof. Toebes commended human rights research in the Netherlands, and the fact that the former Netherlands School of Human Rights Research evolved into the NNHRR. She noted that while there is a continuity in research, and a “tremendous proliferation of human rights scholarship into other areas of law”, many practical and scientific challenges remain. Particularly bothersome to Prof. Toebes is the continuing lack of attention towards second and third generation rights. She highlighted that civil and political rights cannot always be used to address their implementation. In closing, she remarked that the right to development, and the right to a clean environment should be placed very firmly on the agenda.
Prof. Cees Flinterman focused his presentation on the UDHR as a living instrument. He recounted that 35 years ago, the question of whether the UDHR needed rewriting, arose as well. The answer then was no, as the UDHR was considered a living instrument and, as noted in the Preamble a “common standard of achievement” under which governments can be held accountable for violations human rights. This is illustrated by the number of human rights treaties have been ratified by an overwhelming majority of countries around the world. He did observe that the UDHR is neither a complete failure, nor has it been fully realised, and highlighted the importance of educating people about the concept, importance and mission of human rights and fundamental freedoms, without which development would not be possible. He hoped that in 2048, during the 100th anniversary of the UDHR, we will still be able to say it is a living instrument.
Finally, Prof. Schrijver stated that the UDHR is a landmark document, and that few such documents have such a huge impact on people’s lives. He provided three reasons for this: First, before 1945 human rights hardly existed in international law. Except for in a few cases, states did not need to justify the way they treated their nationals. States had the full power over the life of their citizens. After the adoption of the UDHR this changed since it granted rights to everyone, including citizens and groups of citizens, as well as peoples and provided for their protection. Second, the UDHR was instrumental in extending the entire catalogue of human rights, for the first time in world history, to all human beings. Third, it is a document which serves as the fundament for all categories of rights: freedom rights and social rights. Western societies have underestimated the value of social rights, and neglected political rights, when in reality, all human rights are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent. Prof. Schrijver pointed out at several challenges, such as the fragmentation and proliferation of rights, and the urgent need to reform and strengthen the entire human rights system and architecture under the UN, particularly the individual complaints procedures. Another challenge is an intellectual one arising from the humanisation of human rights law more generally: the UDHR is a living instrument and provides room for the recognition of new human rights deriving from human dignity, with all the conceptual problems that this brings. Lastly, he questioned whether human rights suffer from an anthropogenic obsession. He states that we have to rethink the relationship with mother nature and the nearly exclusive focus on human rights. We need to paint a more holistic view of nature and all species living on planet earth. The impact this will have on current and future research, he continued, will no doubt be considerable.
Concluding remarks
This first part of the Toogdag 2023 provided space for general introspection, and an opportunity to reflect on how the past achievements and challenges of the UDHR has had an impact on current human rights discourse. This will be presented in the second part of this report.