On December 10, 1948, the 58 member states of the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In the wake of the war crimes and horrors that marked the Second World War, the preamble affirms that “disregard and contempt for human rights have led to acts of barbarism which revolt the conscience of humanity” .
This text, still relevant, affirms the recognition of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and it recognizes that “everyone has the right to the reign, on the social and international level, of an order such as the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can find full effect therein” (art. 28). The adoption of the UDHR was supplemented and clarified by several other instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) and numerous conventions.
In the wake of this work of recognition of human rights, States have incorporated more or less exhaustively the human rights gradually recognized in international law in their own legislation. This is particularly the case for Quebec in 1975, with the adoption of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, and for Canada, with the adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982.
Why such a normative and legislative arsenal?
In view of the news, one wonders what purpose all these pacts, declarations, conventions or charters serve since these rights are violated with an alarming frequency. Yet these rights are a relevant and always useful tool in the struggles for equal rights, social justice or climate justice.
These rights are the product of struggles waged for more than a century by various social groups. Would we have the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women if suffragettes had not stood up for the right to vote and if feminists of successive generations had not fought for reproductive justice , pay equity or recognition of the invisible work of women? The UDHR has also supported the efforts of colonized peoples to free themselves from colonial rule, including the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
In Quebec, the Ligue des droits et libertés (LDL) played a major role in having the National Assembly adopt the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is still mobilizing today to have it changed, in particular to include new rights that do not yet appear, such as the right to housing or health.
It should be recalled that states that subscribe to international human rights standards are presumed to consider them binding and should fully incorporate them into domestic law in order to guarantee their respect, although this is far from always being the case. A State that deviates from its commitments must justify these derogations, subject to a rule of reasonableness and rationality. In addition, States must report on the implementation of human rights before the various United Nations monitoring committees. Thus, the LDL intervened with the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1998 to show that Canada and Quebec were not fulfilling their obligations with regard to homelessness, social housing or equal treatment. social assistance recipients. Consequently, the Quebec government reversed its decision to seize a significant portion of social assistance checks as reimbursement for overpayments, and that the federal government had to get involved in the financing of social housing.
In its preamble, the Quebec Charter emphasizes that the solemn affirmation of fundamental rights and freedoms contributes to ensuring that “these are guaranteed by the collective will and better protected against any violation”. What should be remembered is that international and national human rights instruments are powerful argumentative tools and set out essential principles, which allow us to judge the conformity of legislation and call governments to order.
great concerns
A relevant way to show its commitment to human rights and social justice is to promote both the Charters and the UDHR, essential tools for the maintenance and consolidation of democratic institutions. However, lately, governments have shown a disturbing casualness in the face of the Charters: one need only think of the abusive and ethically unacceptable use of the notwithstanding clause during the adoption of Bills 21 and 96. , the prolonged use of the state of emergency during the pandemic raises fears that an authoritarian governance that is incompatible with respect for all human rights may be established.
On this day of December 10, an important date around the world, the LDL stresses that States should not appear to guard against human rights, but actively ensure their protection, promotion and implementation. The LDL will continue its work in this direction, convinced that all the human rights protection instruments at our disposal are more necessary than ever to deal with inequalities that undermine social justice, systemic discrimination and environmental crises. It is time for the promotion of human rights and the Charters which recognize them, and not for their trivialization or their weakening.