RC Trebucq’s Remarks at the Reception Honouring Human Rights Defenders in Barbados and Marking the 75th Anniversary of the UDHR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

•    High Commissioner High Commissioner of Canada to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean and the OECS, 

•    Honorable Minister Colin Jordan Minister of Labor, Social Security and the Third Sector of Barbados, 

•    Human Rights Defenders and activists, in particular today’s speakers 

•    Maria Marshall

•    Ranako Bailey

•    Kerryann Iffl

•    All participants from various sector in Barbados

•    Distinguished members of the international community and UN colleagues

Thank you, High Commissioner, for hosting us tonight and demonstrating thereby your constant upholding of HR as priority for Canada in the region and through multilateralism.

I welcome the opportunity to mark 75 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with all of you. In 1948, men and women from different legal and cultural backgrounds drafted a short document, with only 30 articles, that continues to resonate and inspire us. It has given rise to a set of values we share across communities and societies. It has served as a lighthouse for the work of the United Nations and more recently, as a foundation for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Without the Universal Declaration, our common understanding of the dignity and equality of all human beings, regardless of age, gender, social origin, race, religion, disability or other factors may not have been inscribed in many treaties, constitutions and laws around the world.  

In fact, our motto in the development system of “leaving no one behind”,  takes inspiration from the Declaration. 

Dear colleagues and friends,  

1.    The UN SG stated yesterday that (and I quote): “The world is losing its way. Conflicts are raging. Poverty and hunger are increasing. Inequalities are deepening. The climate crisis is a human rights crisis that is hitting the most vulnerable hardest. Gender equality remains a distant dream.”

As I take stock of what the Declaration has meant over these decades, I would like to share two reflections with you. 

2.    First, we cannot mark this anniversary without recognizing that human rights are a lot more than words in any document. 



Behind every social change that has increased justice, freedom or inclusion, there has always been a person or a group of persons “fighting the fight”, putting themselves and their lives on the line. Many processes have been hard won, involving daily battles or several generations. 

That is why we commemorate the Declaration by honouring human rights defenders as champions of change for the common good. They raise their voices despite barriers around them, often thinking and acting beyond their own interests, and choose the spotlight on behalf of many others who are not visible or whose voices are not heard.

3.    Second, human rights work continues to be crucial and a whole society endeavor. The present and future priorities in Barbados and the Caribbean, whether related to digitalization and technologies, renewable energies, Disaster Management, or employment, education and gender equality, all have human rights dimensions that should be incorporated in planning, monitoring and regulation.



None of these priorities can be achieved without participation and intersectional approaches, and the active engagement of all segments of societies, like youth, women, persons with disabilities and the elderly. 

In closing I want to commend Barbados and other Caribbean Countries, for their commitment to HR; as they have through CARICOM promoted a recently adopted GA resolution to open a sub-regional office of the HC for HR for the Caribbean. 

Congratulations! 

Similarly we, in the United Nations in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, renew our commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights for all. 

Thank you.