European Union Ambassador Tom Vens yesterday 10th December 2020 reminded all that human rights are not just lofty principles propagated by defenders in an often hostile world where selfish or tribal instincts can appear to have the upper hand, but that they represent hope all persons should always and relentlessly aspire to represent.
“It is a choice that we make as citizens, as policy-makers and as persons who translate policy into action. Let us all join forces to this end,” he appealed.
H.E. Vens disclosed that 2020 will be remembered as the year in which the Coronavirus pandemic caused havoc, and also a time when people witnessed the acceleration of a worrying trend that started several years ago including a gradual and persistent democratic backsliding and global governance under increasingly heavy stress.
According to the EU Ambassador, the global COVID pandemic has also underscored how digital technologies can be manipulated to spread disinformation and hate speech online, to undermine trust in authorities and response efforts and reinforce conspiracy theories and extremist narratives.
This leaves us, according to Ambassador Vens, with a duty to build back better by ensuring human rights are central to recovery efforts and are protected, both on and offline.
“We will reach our common global goals only if we are able to create equal opportunities for all, address the failures exposed and exploited by COVID-19, and apply human rights standards to tackle entrenched and systemic inequalities, exclusion and discrimination.”
He urged all to think for a moment about the world people really wanted to be a part of; one where we need to be able to rely on global solidarity and where to reaffirm a shared humanity and interconnectedness.
In Sierra Leone, the Ambassador said to look at the future with the comforting knowledge that the pandemic did not stand in the way of realising some remarkable achievements, adding that criminal libel is now a thing of the past and the right to education of every young girl is now firmly anchored in a policy of radical inclusion.
Ambassador Vens went further that on Human Rights Day last year, the government issued a public statement that it will continue to uphold the moratorium on the use of the death penalty and pardoned two women on death row.
He revealed that the instatement of a formal high-level dialogue between the government and CSOs is another realisation that has the potential to create more space for the promotion and defence of human rights.
Not only are these the achievements that have earned Sierra Leone accolades in the international arena, importantly, he said, they reflect a national ambition to let hope prevail over fear, saying: “I warmly congratulate everyone including many of you here who played a role in these achievements.”
The EU Ambassador said reflecting on what was achieved this year “allows us to acknowledge that as entrenched as these situations were achieving real change is possible and is unambiguously rewarding.”
He pointed out that as the country reflected on how people can make further progress on an ambitious human rights agenda to create a more just and equitable society, he wanted journalists to consider the opportunities of a critical analysis of the laws, regulations and practices in order to screen and eliminate all direct and indirect discriminatory practices, especially when it comes to the rights of women and girls and persons with disabilities.
He furthered that it is also prudent to consider the opportunity of a proactive engagement to preserve and increase the civic space, a shrinking space often resulted from excessive administrative requirements or from the imposition of financial constraints that de facto reduce the space for civil society and NGOs to operate, as “this requires all of us to be alert and vigilant.”
Moreover, he said to have a focus on climate and environmental action both as a means to preserve our natural wealth and to advance a wide range of related, essential human rights; the right to health, food, water, education and even the right to life itself, and a focus on digitalisation, not just as a development tool, but also with a clear intent to protect the right to privacy of every individual – acknowledging that data protection is becoming increasingly important in the governance space.
Ambassador Vens touched on the need for sustained efforts to combat false and misleading information that seek to fundamentally undermine democratic and human rights; the abolition of the death penalty as recommended by the Constitutional Review Commission; as well as an ambitious human rights agenda, not just domestically, but also as global actors. In other words, a principled Human Rights approach can and should also guide foreign policy and positions.
He intimated that a rekindled constitutional review process would no doubt offer a firm framework to anchor some of these ambitions but change also requires sustained efforts to strengthen institutions and pursue policy coherence around a clear agenda. “As EU we stand ready in these efforts,” he added.
“We are gathered here today because we have a common agenda. It is heartening to know that all of us here are committed to not just protect but also promote human rights; that we all recognise human rights as central to our ambition to build just and equitable societies.”
He disclosed further that promoting and protecting human rights is of course not just a question of relations between the state and the citizens, informing that, three years ago, “when we marked Human Rights Day in Sierra Leone, the focus was on business and human rights,” adding that this is an area that increasingly attracts attention in the EU also.
“We consider ourselves to be a frontrunner in implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and would like to reference one example, with high relevance for Sierra Leone. The EU law imposes obligations of due diligence on importers of timber and certain minerals from conflict-affected areas, who are required to put in place processes to identify and mitigate adverse human rights and environmental impacts associated with their activities.”
According to the EU Ambassador, when approaching the issue of business and human rights, it is critical to do this also from the perspective of creating a level playing field. It cannot be the case that the focus and scrutiny largely targets those companies that are generally compliant, and that companies where the risks or evidence of abuse are high, manage to stay under the radar.
“It is our duty to create transparency around such realities and tackle them decisively.
“There is no ambiguity around the fact that Human Rights are at the heart of the EU’s foreign policy. Just last week, the EU adopted its third Global Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy and two days ago, the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council added a new instrument to the EU’s human rights toolbox with the adoption of the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.”
He said this regime will target serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide and will include the possibility to impose travel bans and the freezing of assets for perpetrators of serious human rights abuses. “The message is clear; as EU we are serious when it comes to human rights.”
He opined that, the EU is also exploring how it can further foster human rights compliance in the digital sphere and seize the potential of new technologies to promote the protection of human rights for all, adding that the impact of new technologies on human rights is therefore the theme chosen for the annual EU-NGO Human Rights Forum taking place today.
Gathering human rights defenders and civil society organisations from across the world, the Forum explores four main themes including fundamental freedoms in the digital sphere, engaging with the private sector, privacy and surveillance, and artificial intelligence.