Shia Rights Watch Publishes Statement on 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A few days ago, Shia Rights Watch published a statement on the 70^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Convention. Here come some parts of the statement:

December 10th, 2019, marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  It was on this day in 1948 in which inalienable rights, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, economic, or political status, were engraved in a single document. Shia Rights Watch observes this day with pride because all humans deserve to live with dignity. SRW uses this internationally recognized day to renew its goals of raising awareness against human rights violations, promote grassroots advocacy, and empower communities to overcome adversity. In correspondence, this year celebrates the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Thus, the 2019 Human Rights Day is an opportunity to showcase the galvanized role youth have in the sphere of Human Rights promotion and protection. On this day, Shia Rights Watch highlights youth of minority groups, children of those who are frequently marginalized from their larger society. Frequently, broader integration and minority-rights based endeavors fail to account for the needs of the minors. The multitiered barriers that inhibit their empowerment can go long unnoticed. Minority children not only live under the pressures of adolescents, but they also spend their days with the realization that they differ from other occupants in the places they call home. The children who are most affected by this marginalization are those of minorities who are stigmatized. For instance, take the case of Shia Muslims. While they make up the largest minority religion in the world, Shia Muslims are also one of the most targeted groups. In countries such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Malaysia, cultural violence is propagated against Shia Muslims through public education systems. Moreover, political systems show no support for their Shia communities in cases against violence or discrimination based on religious identity.  Thus, as young children, Shia individuals are pushed to the margins of society with signals that they do not belong. Thus, in recognition of December 10th as the International Day of Human Rights, Shia Rights Watch calls for the empowerment of children as first-movers in the strive for social equality. This organization highlights the need for increased social support for this group as well as interventions that empower youth to initiate change in their immediate surroundings.