Today the 10^th of December marks the International Human Rights Day – the Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly in 1948. This year’s Human Rights Day is celebrated under the theme “Equality – Reducing Inequalities, Advancing Human Rights”. The formal inception of Human Rights Day dates from 1950 after the UN General Assembly passed resolution 432 (v) inviting all States and interested organizations to adopt the 10^th of December each year as Human Rights Day.

This year’s theme has a strong focus on equality in advancing human rights. It aligns with Article 1 of the UDHR which provides that – “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and in rights”. This is also reflected in a plethora of Human Rights instruments, including inter alia; the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of a Child, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The last decades have been characterized by deepening, divisive and destabilizing inequalities both which have increasingly put sustainable development at risk, stirring social unrest, undermining social progress and threatening economic and political stability. In recognition of this challenge, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes, in large measure,  the risks of “raising inequalities within and among countries”, “enormous disparities of opportunity, wealth and power”, and persistent  “gender inequality” as immense challenges confronting today’s world.

Rampant poverty, pervasive inequalities, structural discrimination are amongst the greatest Human Rights challenges. In Cameroon, the scale of economic, political, social and cultural inequalities has reached extreme levels and it finds its expression in the daily struggles of the majority of the population in the face of obscene amounts of wealth by a small number of individuals. This has further reinforced gender inequality as most women are affected by a myriad of traditional and sociocultural practices.

The Anglophone crisis has further aggravated the divergence which has made the situation even more difficult for women, low-income and informal workers, younger and older people, those with disabilities, members of ethnic, racial and religious minorities and indigenous people who now find themselves in greater age, gender and racial inequalities. The principle of equality and non-discrimination are at the heart of human rights and sustainable development and also at the heart of solutions required to carry us through this period of crisis. That doesn’t mean we must all look the same, think the same or act the same. It means that we embrace our diversity and demand that we are all treated without any discrimination.

“Equality is about empathy, solidarity and about understanding that, as a common humanity, our only way forward is to work for together for the common good. This was well understood during the years of rebuilding after World War II – the year that saw the development of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the subsequent elaboration of the all-embracing system of international human rights law” (OHCHR, December 2021) 

Reducing inequality requires a transformative change. Greater efforts are needed to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, subjugation of women and the unequal distribution of wealth that has plunged many into abject poverty, access to justice and fair treatment that can be accorded to prisoners.

As CHRDA joins the world to celebrate the achievement of those who have fought tirelessly for the promotion and protection of human rights, we are called upon to reflect this day on what still needs to be done especially in the Cameroonian context in the light of the ongoing crisis in the NWSW Regions that has seen enormous human right abuses and the continues arrest and jailing of opposition leaders and journalists. Despite the progress made, 5 years of the Anglophone crisis and two years of the pandemic have to an extent pulled us some few steps back but determination to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals is key, since equality is at the heart of the goals.

We all should therefore work in solidarity to fulfill the 2030 agenda which envisages a world of equality and non-discrimination and full participation across societies thus combating inequalities and advancing Human Rights.