Human Rights on the Tram

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December 10, 2024
By Andrew Stroehlein
Contact me at DailyBriefTeam@hrw.org and Bluesky @astroehlein.

In today's Daily Brief:

Human Rights Day 2024
Quick Takes: Syria; Sudan; Poland; Central Asia
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Tram Station Parvis St. Gilles in Brussels, Belgium. December 2024, credits HRW

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Human Rights on the Tram

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In today’s edition of the Daily Brief, I’m in the underground tram station at Parvis de Saint-Gilles (Sint-Gillisvoorplein) in Brussels, Belgium. (watch video)

The reason why is that today is Human Rights Day and the 76th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Extracts of the Declaration surround us here on the walls of the station in Dutch and French, Belgium’s two main languages.

The lettered tiles are the 1992 design of Brussels-born artist Françoise Schein. They’re part of Schein’s collection of similar works related to human rights in metro stations and other public spaces around the world.

Here we can see articles of the Declaration such as:

Article One: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

Article Two: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”

Article Five: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Article 14: “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”

Article 18: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion…”

There are 25 others, and they all outline the fundamentals of our human rights. Drafted in 1948 in the aftermath of apocalypse in World War Two, these words represent hope for the future. To guarantee a better world tomorrow, the drafters knew, these would be words to live by.

It may seem strange at first to have the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the walls of a public transport stration. Maybe some people passing by these letters every day don’t know what they’re all about.

Still, if you think about it, a metro station is a good metaphor for universal human rights. Public transport and human rights, in fact, have a lot in common.

Both belong to all of us. Access to your tram stop and your rights shouldn’t depend on your religion or your gender or what language you speak. These things are open to everyone.

Whatever divisions we may all show on the surface, deep down, we’re all in the same tram, trying to get along.

A picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad lies on the ground as a Syrian opposition fighter stands nearby, inside the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024. © 2024 AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki

Quick Takes: Syria; Sudan; Poland; Niger; Central Asia

Syria: The only thing faster than the Syrian opposition forces’ toppling of Assad in recent days has been some (though not all) European politicians using the moment to promote hate against Syrian refugees and talking of deportation.

It is way too early to discuss Syrian refugee returns – the situation remains fragile. The images of streams of cars on the roads from Lebanon back to Syria, filled with Syrian refugee families, returning home, are joyous to see. They underline the notion that most refugees want to return to their home, and reclaim their lives in their home country and land.

However, each Syrian refugee will need to weigh their personal circumstances and safety concerns before making the decision to return. We must keep voluntary repatriation at the heart of any discussion around refugee returns.

Sudan: The Rapid Support Forces killed scores of civilians, and injured, raped, and abducted many others in Habila and Fayu, two towns in South Kordofan state, between December 2023 and March 2024. A new HRW report documents abuses against mainly ethnic Nuba residents, which had not been widely reported previously.

Poland: Authorities are unlawfully, and sometimes violently, forcing people trying to enter the country back to Belarus, ignoring their protection needs. Abuses include beatings with batons, use of pepper spray, and theft. Those pushed back risk serious abuse at the hands of Belarus officials or being trapped in the open air.

Central Asia: Today marks the end of “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.” Global statistics are alarming. In Central Asia, deeply ingrained patriarchal norms hinder survivors’ access to justice and aid, and impunity for family abuse is the norm. As we’ve written before, “tradition” is no excuse for abuse.