On the 10th of December this year, we commemorate a day of paramount legal significance, as it marks the 75th anniversary since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration formed the compendium of the human rights experience, representing the inaugural consensus that established essential international standards for safeguarding human rights and freedom..

This year's commemoration is overshadowed by Israel's aggressive actions against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian territories. In perpetrating these transgressions, Israel is accused of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, and acts of genocide, thereby violating international conventions in both international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The Center deems these assaults as severe breaches of such laws, encompassing not only the legal protections for children, women, elders, disabled individuals, journalists, medical staff, aid providers, and the general public but also extending to civilian properties, press and media organizations, schools, hospitals, and cultural sites targeted in the Israeli attacks. These violations demand urgent international attention and intervention to bring about an immediate cessation of the conflict and put an end to the ongoing humanitarian disasters.

The Centre emphasizes the insistent need for an immediate halt to these aggressions and urges the international community, including all United Nations organs, to fulfill their responsibilities in response to the ongoing occupation. It is imperative to bear in mind that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights originated as a means to shield humanity from the devastating impacts of wars, underscoring the importance of global collaboration in ensuring its principles are upheld. The Universal Declaration ensures this by stating in its preamble: “We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small…”

Within this context, considering the international community's response to the assault on the Gaza Strip, the Centre highlights the importance of deploying shared humanitarian values for international entities that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes within its statements. Simultaneously, it advocates for the application of the international human rights law and the international humanitarian law. Additionally, the Center supports the UN statement issued on October 26th of this year, stemming from a Jordanian initiative and receiving votes from 120 countries. This statement urges the cessation of hostilities and displacements, ensures the unimpeded passage of aid, and demands an end to transgressions on hospitals, schools, and cultural properties—an imperative decision made early in response to the ongoing Israeli assaults. Furthermore, the Center aligns with the actions of the Secretary-General in implementing Article 99 of the UN Charter, emphasizing the importance of avoiding double standards that convey a message to Palestinians implying a lack of value for their lives and a denial of the care and protection they rightfully deserve.