"On the streets of human rights, are children of every nation.
On the streets of human rights, we make this declaration:
Born equal, born free - but children are still very hungry!"
One of my pet hates is when people say "I do not even see colour" or "I do not even see we are different." That's a lie. We are different and wonderfully so. We are equal in our humanity but true beauty lies in our diversity. We may look, act, pray, eat and dance (!) differently but those differences are an invitation to learn, build knowledge and widen our respective perspectives.
As a child, my school was located on Nr .1 Strasse der Menschenrechte - Human Rights Street. Walking through the gates was a daily affirmation of our commitment to the notion of equality of all people. We grew up learning to stand in the shoes of others different from ourselves and build friendships across a rich tapestry of cultures (which happily included consumption of all kinds of delicious foods!). We used to commemorate international human rights day with songs and art work that promoted tolerance, understanding and unity because when you are interconnected with others, you do not argue in terms of "us" versus "them".
Despite the remarkable progress we have in so many sectors - artificial intelligence, space, construction, medicine - we are failing so fundamentally on foundational issues like love, the environment and human rights. As we celebrate 75 years since the human rights declaration in Paris in 1948, we must applaud the significant progress that has been made. But as we watch the daily vitriol on news cycles and social media platforms that expose the structural hate and inequalities we have allowed, it is clear there is still tremendous work to do. Did the drafters of the declaration know that 75 years on we would still be fighting, hurting and looking for ways to promote division on the basis of our differences?
There are so many angles to unravel when it comes to human rights and gender rights. Center for Law and Innovation Team launched the first of our thematic quarterly journals today - the Certa Foundation Journal! Our focus, in commemoration of #UDH75, is on Human Rights and Gender Based-Violence in Africa - articles, commentaries that I hope will educate and inspire as well as two personal insights from brave survivors who shared their traumatic experiences. This is our humble contribution to this important discourse.
It takes all of us to do what we can in our respective areas of influence.
#humanrights #equality #diversity #endsgbv #UDH75
Exciting Announcement 📢
Launch of the Certa Foundation Journal: Human Rights and Gender-based Violence!
It is with immense pleasure that we unveil the first publication of the Certa Foundation Journal dedicated to sharing African perspectives on critical legal discourse in line with the Center for Law and Innovation's five research labs: Climate Justice, Tech and Innovation, Trade and Investment, ADR and Human Rights & Gender.
Our inaugural journal tackles human rights and gender-based violence in Africa, providing historical analyses, challenges and current perspectives. Our launch today is to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration, which was first proclaimed in 1948 at the United Nations General Assembly in Paris, France as well as the end of the 2023 commemoration of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.
We hope this humble contribution will spark meaningful conversations in Rwanda and across the continent on how to advance human rights and mitigate the occurrence of gender-based violence in our communities.
Thank you to A4ID - Advocates for International Development for your partnership that made the publication of this first quarterly journal possible.
Stay tuned for updates on our next journal and opportunities to get involved as a contributor or partner. Follow us on twitter @centerforlawandinnovation and join the conversation using #HumanRights
https://lnkd.in/dT4guFPq
#CertaFoundationJournal #CenterforLawandInnovation #HumanRights #HumanRightsAdvocacy #EndGBV #EndSGBV #ChangeMakers #HumanRightsDeclaration #75anniversary #OHCHR
Certa Foundation Journal - Volume 1 (Human Rights and Gender-based Violence)
certafoundation.rw
Scientist turned storyteller, caregiver and village catalyst learning and sharing ways to unlock the power of neighbors to create wonderful places to grow up and grow old. Learn more: VillageCompany360.com
2moBinaifer: I wouldn't expect that you would remember me, but yours is a name that has remained in my DNA all these decades after I left Nairobi. Congratulations on this accomplishment.