The Future of human right propagation and European response to refugee and immigrant camps

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Katerina Namaal Bel-Nono, a 2^nd year Ghanaian student of Sumy state university medical institute and Ms. Asekun Abiola Tolulope, a Nigerian 5th-year medical student at Sumy State University, Ukraine. They are affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

Europe has always been a place of solace for many immigrants. New arrivals in Europe between October and December are estimated at 35,7302 , bringing the total number in 2020 to approximately 94,8003 (18.5 percent of whom are children)(1).

Europe, through its collaboration with various organizations such as UNICEF and UNHCR, has developed strategies and funds to assist these refugees and migrant camps. In 2020, the European Commission will devote the majority of its €900 million humanitarian budget to projects that address the needs of forcibly displaced people and local communities. More than half of the projects aided children who were refugees or internally displaced. The European Commission issued the Communication ‘Lives in Dignity; Moving from Aid Dependence to Self-Sufficiency’ in April 2016. Forced Displacement and Development, which presents a development-led approach to forced displacement in order to help people gain access to education, healthcare, housing, and basic support services. (2)

Human rights have been violated around the world, though the violations are more severe in some countries than others. Hence we cannot blame ignorance alone; we must also condem obstinacy and abuse of power.

As the world appears to be delving deeper into media and technological influence, we must optimize its full capacity for the benefit of the people. Many people, including Sarah Leah Whitson, former ED of Human Rights Watch’s MENA Division, and Peter Bouckaert, former Human Rights Watch Emergencies Director, are driven by this cause and are working to spread knowledge and encourage the practice of respecting human rights.

Efforts made through participation in UN policies and action, including, but not limited to, the following:

• provision of support, advice and training to United Nations partners to implement the Human Rights Due Diligence Policy This policy will help to “ensure support provided to non- United Nations forces is consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and with their responsibility to respect, promote and encourage respect for international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law.”(3)

• Justice mechanisms, including for transitional justice, provide increased accountability for conflict-related violations.- We will document, map and report human rights violations and abuses, and breaches of international humanitarian law in the context of conflict, including through our assistance to inquiry mechanisms established by UN intergovernmental bodies; support justice mechanisms that seek to enhance accountability for conflict-related violations in different jurisdictions(3).

Furthermore, the responses from Europe have a lot to offer in terms of international support for resettlement. Inspired by the enormity of human suffering caused by WWII, the United Nations General Assembly issued the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 72 years ago as a “common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations” 4.

It is time to bring the international law of refugees and the international law of human rights together. Refugees and immigrants deserve the best treatment possible, so the world should band together to combat this global issue, particularly this year 2022.

References

1. Refugee and migrant response in Europe – UNICEF. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2022, from https://www.unicef.org/media/91736/file/Refugee_and_Migrant_Crisis_in_Europe_SitRep_31_December_2020.pdf

2. Document 52016DC0234. EUR. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2022, from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A52016DC0234

3. Preventing violations and strengthening protection of human rights. OHCHR. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2022, from https://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/ManagementPlan/Pages/preventing-violations.aspx 

4. 2021, 7 S. (n.d.). The Future of Human Rights. The Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies. Retrieved January 25, 2022, from https://www.pi.lu.se/en/future-human-rights?q=themes-0%2Ffuture-human-rights

About the author

Katerina Namaal Bel-Nono is a 2^nd year Ghanaian student of Sumy state university medical institute. She is passionate about global health and has participated in an article on the topic: “Marburg virus amidst COVID-19 pandemic in Guinea”, which was published on www.pubmed.ncib.nlm.nih.gov, on the 15^th on September 2021.

Asekun Abiola Tolulope is a Nigerian 5th-year medical student at Sumy State University, Ukraine. She is a remarkable student in her field of study.