Tomorrow, December 10 is Human Rights Day.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 72 years ago.
This is still a milestone document that proclaims the fundamental rights which everyone is entitled to as a human being.
Each year, Human Rights Day has a different theme.
This year, after 12 months in which the world as one was struck by an invisible killer, has been given the theme ‘recover better’.
The UN website provides a stark reminder of the dangerous inequalities worldwide that have become undeniable this year: “Human rights must be at the centre of the post COVID-19 world.
“The COVID-19 crisis has been fuelled by deepening poverty, rising inequalities, structural and entrenched discrimination and other gaps in human rights protection.
“Only measures to close these gaps and advance human rights can ensure we fully recover and build back a world that is better, more resilient, just, and sustainable.”
In November a damning study from the Northern Health Science Alliance showed the north of England has been hit harder by the Covid-19 pandemic than any other part of the country.
Higher levels of unemployment and child poverty in northern regions including Manchester are a massive factor in the disproportionate pandemic effects, new research shows.
The recent State of the North report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) reported: “A decade of austerity has eroded resilience right across the region and severely hampered its ability to deal with the social and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The north of England has been hit hard by the pandemic but as the vaccine rollout begins, the UK is a frontrunner in the race against the virus.
Across the world, however, many countries will not be receiving a vaccine or substantial aid.
This Human Rights Day, Yemen nears its sixth year at war.
The world’s worst humanitarian crisis worsens every day in a country once famed for its beauty and rich history.
And sources say reports of a miraculous Covid-19 recovery in Yemen aren’t true.
Instead, the country is so ravaged by UK-backed Saudi-coalition airstrikes, a civil war on the ground and a fast-approaching famine that the pandemic is simply another thing to add to the horrific reality of civilians living there.
Bethan McKernan wrote in The Guardian: “Children are suffering with cholera, diphtheria and dengue fear, contagious diseases that have stalked Yemen since the outbreak of war.
“For patients and doctors here, in what the UN says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, coronavirus barely registers.”
Airstrikes from the western-backed Saudi coalition, shellings from Iran-backed Houthis and extreme malnutrition are killing civilians in Yemen frequently.
Now, the Covid-19 pandemic has joined the long list of deadly diseases ravaging Yemen.
What can we do this Human Rights Day?
On December 10th this year, The British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) is holding an event open to anyone who would like to learn more about our human rights during Covid-19 and beyond.
This online event will take place via Zoom. It is free but places are capped at 180.
Tickets are available here: https://www.bihr.org.uk/Event/human-rights-day-2020-with-bihr
On December 12th, the United Nations Association is hosting two events with expert panels.
It takes place between 6pm and 9pm and is free for everyone.
Full programme details and a link to register can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/human-rights-day-2020-racial-justice-and-human-rights-in-the-21st -century-tickets-124791106559
For more information on the crisis in Yemen visit: https://mwatana.org/en/
