Today, we celebrate the International Human Rights Day. On this same date, seventy-four years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly with the aim, after the horrors of the Second World War, of contributing to the construction of a new international order based on the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said that “the foreign policy of the Italian Government is based on the promotion and the protection of human rights worldwide”.
Minister Tajani added that “today, it is more important than ever to recall and keep alive the spirit and principles of the Declaration globally. In many areas of the world, women and men, girls and boys are fighting for their rights and freedoms, challenging the most ruthless face of the repression by authoritarian regimes and dictatorships. We witness with dismay the violent repression of youth and women and the use of the death penalty in Iran”.
In the face of the killing of the young Iranian protester Mohsen Shekari, Minister Tajani reaffirmed Italy’s unconditional opposition to the death penalty, reiterating its readiness to react to any violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms with the utmost firmness.
“In this spirit”, added Tajani, “Italy looks with confidence at the growing positioning of the international community in favor of the abolition of death penalty, also in view of the upcoming vote on the biannual resolution of the United Nations General Assembly for a universal moratorium”.
The theme chosen this year to celebrate this anniversary – Dignity, Freedom and Justice for All – underlines the link between human rights, democratic values and the fight against impunity. The fight against impunity is an integral part of any process of national reconciliation and of peaceful coexistence within any community. There can be no sustainable and lasting peace without an adequate response to the victims’ requests for justice.
To celebrate this important day, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, through the Inter-ministerial Committee for Human Rights (CIDU), has also established, since 2020, the “CIDU Award for Human Rights”, aimed precisely at enhancing the widespread commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights in our country, and which will see its next edition in 2023.