Reflections on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from Our Rights in Humanitarian Crises Program Partners

UUSC's partners are the heavy lifters in the hard work of protecting and promoting human rights in the midst of chaos, violence, fear, and need. They are the ones who, even as they seek to recover from disaster themselves, reach out their hands to help those who are more vulnerable. Our partners are driven by a vision of equal rights to relief, reconstruction, and recovery for all people affected by natural disasters and wars, regardless of who those people are.

Homes all along the U.S. Gulf Coast were destroyed by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Lower-income and communities of color have had a much harder time returning, rebuilding, and recovering.

Our partner Roberta Avila, executive director of the Interfaith Disaster Task Force, which is working for recovery from Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, Miss., explains her motivation this way:

"It is our duty, as people of faith, to reach out and assist others in getting help to restore their homes and the needs they have, even three years after Hurricane Katrina. I believe that my recovery is not complete if my neighbor has not recovered. I am inspired by those who shine a light on my connection to all people, like Shantideva, the fifth century Buddhist monk, who asked: Limbs are cherished because they are parts of the body; why then are other people not cherished because they are parts of humanity?"

Anbreen Ajaib (L) and UUSC staff member Laurie Brunner (R) participated in a learning exchange to Indonesia to learn more about protecting women’s rights in disasters.

Anbreen Ajaib, who works with UUSC's partner organization Bedari, helps defend the rights of women and children survivors of the Pakistan earthquake in Kashmir. She explains that her work is very personal:

"Working for human rights gives me satisfaction in two ways. First, I am a lower middle-class, rural woman, and I have experienced huge violations of my own rights. So, working for human rights gives me direction for working on my own issues. Second, it gives me room to interact with other people who are marginalized. There is a strong need to work for human rights in Pakistan<, especially for the rights of those people who have less opportunity to exercise their voice and choice. I feel energized to work for human rights, especially for women's human rights.

UUSC's partners recognize that entrenched inequalities and the failure of state institutions quickly turn disasters into man-made catastrophes, where human rights take a backseat the particular interests of those with power. The following account was written by one of our brave partners responding to a crisis in a country where the government has not respected everyone's right to emergency help and recovery. It could have been written by any of our partners, anywhere in the world:

Children, especially those who are orphaned or unaccompanied, are extremely vulnerable during times of war and natural disaster. They are at risk of grave human rights violations: trafficking, forced labor, sexual exploitation, and inadequate nutrition and education and love.

"When a little girl told me what she went through on the night the storm hit her coastal village, I could not believe what I heard. The picture of her, an eight-year-old child, carrying her brother on her shoulders and trying to escape the tidal surges, reflected a state that failed to protect and help its citizens. This little girl lost her brother on that night, and she still did not know how to answer my question 'what would you like big-people (the authorities) to do for you?'

"To state authorities who do not value human life as much as its natural resources or big business, living and dying are unimportant words. The state as a guarantor of human rights does not exist here. Citizens are not aware that they are entitled to food, work, and—in the case of natural disasters—to be rescued, sheltered, and helped to recover.

"Every relief worker I know worked quietly, without uttering anything about 'rights' a word that has become so politicized. Everyone involved in relief work was filled with anxiety, grief, and anger. We operated very carefully, trying to avoid potential conflicts in distributing emergency supplies, and we were relieved when big organizations arrived with more aid.

"But the individuals who collected and buried corpses, rebuilt homes, and cleaned out wells with whatever means they had—those who simply stepped in to fill the vacuum created by the absence of those who should have been responsible—those are the real heroes. In this chaos after the hurricane, I have come to wonder, 'Of what benefit are any kind of laws when human rights are so blatantly disregarded?'"

UUSC's partners recognize that is critical to strive to protect and promote human rights, even while the pressing needs of water, food, shelter, and health care are the sole focus of mainstream humanitarian aid. UUSC's Pakistan partner, Bedari, clearly explains why:

"In rural areas, girls have very few opportunities to explore their potential and broaden their learning. In case a woman thinks of challenging some norm for her basic human rights, she will not find any social support; she will be discouraged and stigmatized. She does not know the laws, she can not go to court, and she seldom finds people in her family with whom to talk. The result is that women are dependent on male family members for survival, and must obey them even when it could be harmful. This makes their position even weaker. Women do not have productive assets, like land, or the skills to go out and earn a living. The earthquake further weakened women's position because so many people died and were disabled. Local and familial support systems collapsed. People were occupied with their own survival and nobody was able to fully support others. Women, particularly widows, became the most vulnerable group. The right for women to have an adequate standard of living became even more critical. Women-headed households were at risk. Women's land inheritance rights were an important hope for women's survival."