International Human Rights Day: A Right Lost in Gaza
The International Human Rights Day is observed every year on December 10, commemorating the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. This day aims to highlight the importance of human rights and to promote the values of freedom, justice, and equality for all people, affirming that every individual is born equal in dignity and worth.
Yet, while the world marks this occasion, the people of Gaza continue to endure a tragic reality that deprives them of their most basic human rights.
The Human Rights Situation in Gaza
When we look at what is happening in Gaza, we find that these rights are violated daily with no meaningful response from the international community.
Where is the right to life when children are killed in their homes?
Where is the right to safety when people live in constant fear of bombardment and destruction?
Where is justice when perpetrators are not held accountable for their crimes?
The Gaza Strip, which has been under continuous blockade for more than a year now, has become a symbol of suffering for millions of people who lack the right to live in dignity. Families sleep on the ground and face the sky, enduring a second harsh winter in fragile tents that offer neither warmth nor protection, along with severe shortages of food, medicine, and basic supplies.
The ongoing war has driven hundreds of thousands below the poverty line. Children—who are supposed to be the future—are deprived of education due to the destruction of schools and are forced to live under the constant threat of airstrikes and recurring violence.
Violated Rights
1. The Right to Life and Security
Continuous shelling and repeated military attacks have caused the deaths of civilians, including women and children, alongside the daily destruction of homes and vital infrastructure.
2. The Right to Freedom and Movement
The Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007 restricts freedom of movement both inside the Palestinian territories and beyond. The closure of border crossings such as Rafah and Kerem Shalom limits travel, access to essential services, and the entry of humanitarian aid.
3. The Right to Education and Healthcare
The destruction of schools and educational facilities during repeated wars undermines children’s right to education. The lack of medicine and medical equipment, along with the bombing of hospitals and the suffocating blockade, leaves the healthcare system unable to meet even basic needs.
4. The Right to a Decent Standard of Living
Gaza suffers from some of the highest poverty and unemployment rates globally due to the blockade and economic collapse. Clean water, electricity, and stable essential services are severely lacking.
5. The Right to International Justice
There is a complete absence of accountability for ongoing violations against Gaza’s population, with weak enforcement of UN resolutions concerning Palestinian rights.
6. The Right to Human Dignity
More than two million Palestinians endure harsh and inhumane conditions that directly affect their dignity and daily lives.
A Call for Action
On this day, discourse on human rights cannot remain confined to speeches and slogans. It must translate into serious action to protect the rights of the oppressed. The people of Gaza embody a powerful reminder of the need to strengthen international solidarity and intensify pressure to end practices that violate human dignity.
The responsibility of the global community extends beyond providing humanitarian aid—it must include concrete efforts to stop violence and hold perpetrators accountable.
A Message to the World
“A Right Lost in Gaza”—the theme of this year’s International Human Rights Day—must be a call to remind the world that human rights cannot be selective or limited to certain places. Just as freedom is a universal right, a dignified life is a right that no human should be deprived of, regardless of nationality or location.
The war on Gaza once again proves the seriousness of arguments stating that the Western human rights system is not grounded in any universal moral foundation, but rather on selective, discriminatory, and double standards.
Ending Gaza’s suffering is not merely a humanitarian issue—it is a true test of the international community’s ability to uphold the justice and equality it claims to defend.
