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Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative - London
www.humanrightsinitiative.org |
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The new Secretary-General
what her tenure means for human rights in the Commonwealth
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What can we expect from Baroness Scotland
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On 1st
April 2016 Baroness Patricia Scotland will become the sixth Commonwealth Secretary-General, the first woman to hold the position. David Cameron has called the Secretary-General Designate “the right person” to promote “human rights, democracy and the rule of law”. But what can we expect from our new Secretary General?
With an impressive track record the Secretary-General Designate is well prepared for the task of leading the Commonwealth, but must remain determined and outspoken to deliver the progress that the organisation needs. Over the past decade the Commonwealth has faced repeated claims of increasing irrelevance on the global stage. By making demonstrable progress on human rights Baroness Scotland can start to change this narrative. Two areas where there is clear need for progress, and on which the Secretary-General Designate has already spoken out are LGBT and Women's rights.
Read the full article.
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| What the new SG should do on day one to lay the foundations for a successful tenure |
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Helen Keller was an amazing woman. Overcoming blindness, deafness, and an inability to speak she devoted much of her life to humanitarian and charity work. Mark Twain declared her a “fellow to Caesar, Alexander, Napoleon, Homer, Shakespeare and the rest of the immortals.”
A prolific writer, Keller left behind her a raft of works. Baroness Scotland is fond of this one quote in particular; “[a]lone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
And, as Helen Keller knew “[t]he best way out is always through.” |
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LGBT rights
Increasingly the international community recognises the deficiencies among Commonwealth member states in upholding the human rights of their LGBT citizens.
Kaleidoscope Trust has demanded that LGBT rights be a “substantive” agenda item at the next Commonwealth summit, scheduled in England in early 2018. Felicity Daly, executive director of Kaleidoscope Trust, said:
“The Commonwealth, as a network of states, institutions and civil society actors, must play a vital role in ensuring equality for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
You can read Kaleidoscope's 2015 report Speaking Out - The Rights of LGTBI People Across the Commonwealth here.
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