Manama (The International Peace Institute, Middle East & North Africa, IPI MENA) –IPI MENA Director Nejib Friji called on women and youth at the Royal University for Women (RUW), to proactively take leadership of their fundamental rights through a forward-looking rights-based approach to build on the achievements of human rights, at a forum entitled “The UDHR: A Legacy Continued for Development and Human Rights Protection” to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights (UDHR).
Opening the forum, held in collaboration with RUW, National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR), United Nations Bahrain, the Ombudsman’s Office, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Kingdom of Bahrain and IPI MENA, Dr. Pasquale Borea, Dean of the College of Law at RUW, stressed on the educational value of the declaration as a successive international legal instrument echoed across regional conventions, national legislations and instruments of soft law.
“Spreading knowledge and awareness of the UDHR amongst the youth constitutes the main antidote to extremism, radicalism and intolerance,” he stated. “It represents a fundamental step to inculcate in the new generations values such as dialogue, respect and tolerance.”
Focusing on Article 7 within the Declaration, United Nations Resident Coordinator Amin El Sharkawi underlined its connection to the fifth Sustainable Development Goal; gender equality, and the important role women played in conceptualizing the UDHR.
Mr. Sharkawi highlighted the roles of Hansa Mehta of India, Minerva Bernardino of the Dominican Republic and Begum Shaista Ikramullah of Pakistan, as prime examples of key female players who fundamentally transformed the UDHR to encompass women.
Putting forward examples of the German Federal Government in urging companies to implement human rights, German Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain Kai Boeckmann stressed the private sector’s responsibility in upholding and promoting human rights.
Noting the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January 2019, Mr. Boeckmann pointed to the achievements of the international community in working together following the mass violations of human rights. “We need to resolutely defend all that we have achieved,” he stated.
Noting the gender imbalance on the panel, IPI MENA Director Nejib Friji gave the floor to IPI MENA Program Assistant Dalya Al Alawi to deliver IPI MENA’s statement and reiterated the importance of incorporating women and youth to build on the legacy of the UDHR.
Emphasizing the connection between respect for human rights, peacefulness and ‘positive peace’, she stressed the participation of women and youth, two interconnected and integral players to the sustainable development and peacefulness of a society, as crucial in resonating with the 2030 Agenda’s pledge to “leave no one behind.”
“Incorporating women and youth to build on the legacy of the UDHR can serve as a focal point for civil society organizations, national human rights institutions and private sector to engage in dialogue on this front and help shift from a culture of crisis management to one of prevention,” she stated.
Mr. Abdulla Ahmed Alderazi, Vice Chairperson of the NIHR’s Council of Commissioners, reminded citizens and civil society of their duties to uphold human rights and stressed on the importance of Article 29 of the UDHR.
Mashael Al Qutami, Specialist Investigator at the Ombudsman Office, pointed to the contemporary nature of the UDHR and underlined the international feminist movement during the 1970s giving way to the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against All Women (CEDAW), as an example of significant treaties born from the UDHR.
In attendance were parliament representatives, private sector, diplomatic corps, students, media and the first female judge in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Mona Al Kawari.
Following the forum, a debate took place where private sector and female students interacted actively, on their roles to take ownership of their rights, and the ways forward to build on the legacy of the UDHR.
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