Human Rights Day Official Statement by Dafina Gercheva, UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine

The world has celebrated Human Rights Day every 10 December for 73 years, in commemoration of the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Declaration proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status.

Each year the UN honours and highlights Human Rights Day with a theme connected to this landmark document. This year, the commemorative day focuses on the theme of Equality and Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which reads “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

We at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) believe strongly that human rights are at the heart of sustainable development, and we thus take a human rights-based approach in everything that we do. We see human rights principles and the 2030 Agenda as being mutually reinforcing and complementary, with more than 90 percent of the Sustainable Development Goals and its related targets corresponding to human rights. As such, we support the human rights-based approach for development in more than 100 countries through programmes that seek to expand opportunities, protect fundamental rights and promote freedoms for all.

In Ukraine, for example, UNDP is working with the National Human Rights Institution (often referred to as the Office of the Ombudsperson), national and local authorities, civil society, and human rights defenders to promote human rights across Ukraine and to improve access to justice, especially for the most vulnerable in society.

In 2021, despite various emerging challenges, the government of Ukraine has made significant progress in many important dimensions of human rights, such as the adoption of two key strategic documents: the National Human Rights Strategy and the National Strategy on Building a Barrier-free Environment in Ukraine.

We at UNDP view both of these strategies to be of critical importance, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a significant adverse impact on socio-economic rights and human development. Some of the challenges the country is currently facing include access to health, education and income, including pensions. Furthermore, the most marginalized are being disproportionately affected, further exacerbating their vulnerabilities and inequalities. 

During the lockdowns, we learned how to leverage the power of technologies, and how to apply new digital approaches and platforms in both our professional and personal lives. However, while digital transformation can bring numerous development benefits to some people, it can leave others out in the cold on the unconnected side of the digital divide. If not governed properly rapid digitalization can pose risks to public service provision, personal data protection, and social inclusion. To be fully inclusive so that no one is left behind, the digitalization reform process needs to fully integrate and reflect the human rights-based approach to development.

To address these challenges, UNDP is working with both the Office of the Ombudsperson and its regional network, and with the Ministry of Digital Transformation to ensure equal access to public services, and public information. We are also developing innovative solutions to ensure personal data protection.

With respect to the private sector, UNDP is currently finalizing four baseline research studies to explore and measure how businesses can take a more proactive role in integrating human rights principles into their production, distribution and supply chains. In addition, UNDP is working with the media to promote human rights values among journalists so they can incorporate a human rights-based approach and human rights values into their professional practices.

Furthermore, alongside the pandemic, we are witnessing a shadow pandemic of rising gender-based violence in countries around the world. Gender-based violence is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today. Even worse, it remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it. This is unacceptable and should not be tolerated by anyone, anywhere.

In Ukraine, it was a serious problem even before the pandemic, with 67 percent of women in the country saying they had experienced some form of violence – psychological, physical, or sexual – since the age of 15. Since the pandemic, the situation has worsened. It is worth noting that the National Police of Ukraine registered nearly 50 percent more domestic violence complaints in 2020 than in 2019.

We will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goals without addressing the root causes of all forms of human rights violations. Ensuring non-discrimination and equality, empowerment, as well as active and meaningful participation through a human rights-based approach to development is the best way to reduce inequalities, achieve the SDGs and ensure a future of shared prosperity for everyone, with no one left behind.