Building trust and promoting human rights across the globe
The Danish Institute for Human Rights, alongside other defenders of human rights, used the 70th Anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights to celebrate the milestone document.
The anniversary also reminded us of the continued significance of human rights, not least as a countermeasure to discourses of fear and mistrust that are on the rise in many countries.
The annual report presents some ofthe many results we have contributed to in 2018.
In 4 chapters we present how:
1. We are strengthening SDG accountabilitythrough human right
2. We advance business with respectfor human rights
3. We strengthen national humanrights institutions
4. We support trust-building and security efforts
As UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres formulated it in his 2018 opening address to the General Assembly, ‘the world is suffering from a trust deficit’.In this what you might call ‘battle between trust and fear’, reclaiming civic space is crucial to allow all voices to be heard and thereby build trust.
Enjoyment of human rights is key to trust building
Promoting the message that the enjoyment of human rights is key for societies to build and maintain trust is central to the international work of the Danish Institute for Human Rights.In collaboration with our partners, for example the police in Niger and multinational companies such as Eni in Myanmar, and with our sister national human rights institutions all over the world, we work to build trust on many different levels. By supporting the development of strong and transparent state actors we help build trust between the authorities and their citizens, which is a precondition for a vibrant civic space and the full enjoyment of human rights for all.
Addressing the SDG accountability gap
Seeking to ‘realise the human rights of all’ is at the core of the 2030 Agenda and it has been a call to action for the Institute’s international activities since its adoption in 2015. We are endeavouring to ensure a close and operational link between human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. Our aim is to address the SDG accountability gap and the human rights implementation gap by demonstrating how human rights can concretely underpin and facilitate the implementation of the SDGs and help ensure that no one is, in reality, left behind.
The Institute has a legal obligation to provide an annual account on human rights for the Danish parliament and the report serves as a key document in our counselling on human rights issues to the Danish members of parliament. Read the report.