Human Rights: A path for Solutions.

 

In retrospect, we have come a long way on that journey, but we are at a precarious moment and cannot take things for granted. With us, devastating conflicts, the triple planetary crisis, skyrocketing inequalities, and new powerful technologies whose risks are yet to be grasped. As we confront these challenges, we recall the Declaration’s conviction that, no matter the context, it is through respect for human rights we craft a better future for “our human family”. 

In pursing this vision for human rights, we stand in solidarity with all those denied their rights and pay tribute to the bravery of human rights defenders, past and present. We must draw determination from their courage to craft this new era for human rights, knowing that a long-term vision yields countless dividends today. And that a connecting thread runs between our actions and outcomes now and the world we will end up with in decades ahead. The challenges are many and escalating, but progress is never linear. Through putting trust in our shared values and in each other, we can resolve to curb our most damaging reflexes. Choosing, instead, to keep moving, with even more conviction and ambition, towards the goal of individuals, societies and a global community thriving in alignment with our deepest values. We must seed that better future now. 

In this spirit, I offer this Vision Statement as a contribution to the Summit of the Future and as signposts for the years to come. Its outlook has been informed by an extensive engagement with diverse actors all across the world throughout the year-long Human Rights 75 Initiative, which concluded in December 2023 at a High-Level Event hosted simultaneously in Geneva, Bangkok, Nairobi, Panama and globally online. 

Read the full Vision Statement