Fighting populism and xenophobia, and championing human rights is bearing fruit, according to Human Rights Watch's World Report 2018. France leads the way, Germany is a mixed bag, the US and Britain are falling behind.
Human Rights Watch's annual report has urged governments across the globe to fight populism and xenophobia. Efforts to resist authoritarian agendas in some countries are starting to pay off, the human rights organization said.
"The central lesson of the past year is that human rights can be protected from populist challenge," said Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch executive director.
"What's needed is a principled defense rather than surrender, a call to action rather than a cry of despair," he added.
France shines, Austria disappoints
France, the report says, is the "most prominent example of successful resistance to xenophobic populism" from the country's Front National party, led by Marie Le Pen.
In Austria and the Netherlands, meanwhile, the center-right parties had chosen to compete with the populists by adopting anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant positions, "thereby mainstreaming abusive populist policies," according to the report.
In Germany, Michalski said, those state premiers who had clearly set themselves apart from the increasingly popular right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) , garnered the most votes.
By contrast, "where they tried to adopt their [the AfD's] rhetoric and also tried to oppose Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee-friendly policies, that's where the AfD got a lot of votes."
Michalski said Germany's human rights record is good overall, but he cautioned against curbing free speech, criticizing Germany's recently passed online hate speech law. He also insisted that refugees had a "right to a family," criticizing efforts by the conservative parties to curb family reunification.
In the report, Roth warned that countries that had always championed human rights, like the USA and the UK as well as other European nations, were becoming too "hesitant," with the UK too preoccupied with Brexit.
"Their hesitancy has left a vacuum in which mass atrocities proceeded, often unchecked, in countries such as Yemen, Syria, Burma, and South Sudan," the report said.
Many EU countries were also sitting on the fence about populist policies in Turkey , Hungary and Poland, for example. But Roth emphasized that "the EU finally found its voice and invoked Article 7 [on Poland]," at a news conference in Paris on Thursday.
In the United States, the report stresses that US President Donald Trump's divisive policies had done "enormous damage," but had been met with "widespread resistance" by civic groups, journalists, lawyers, judges and even members of Trump's Republican Party.
Mighty minnows: Netherlands, Liechtenstein
While the report slammed the Netherlands for not standing up to the far-right, it pointed out that the country — as well as the small country of Liechtenstein — stepped up to the plate on the international stage.
The Netherlands led the demand for a UN investigation into human rights abuses by the Saudis in Yemen. When Russia refused to allow the UN Security Council to challenge Syria on human rights abuses, Liechtenstein built a coalition to seek a resolution in the UN general assembly.
Andrea Grunau contributed to this report.
The rights of a human being
On December 1948, the United Nations agreed that the "inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world."
Image: Imago/M. Westermann
'Freedom, equality, brotherhood' (Article 1)
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." In 30 articles, the peoples of the United Nations reaffirmed through the charter, their determination "to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom."
Image: Imago/M. Westermann
No place for discrimination (Article 2)
Everyone all over the world is entitled to rights and freedoms - regardless of "race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Samad
The rights to life and freedom (Articles 3, 4 and 5)
"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person." (3) "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude." (4) "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." (5)
Image: NDR
Equal before the law (Articles, 6-12)
Every human being has the right to a fair trial and to be protected by law (6, 8, 10, 12). The right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. (11) "All are equal before the law" (7) and "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile." (9).
Image: Getty Images
Freedom to move (Articles 13, 14 and 15)
"Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. Everyone has the right to leave any country." (13). "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution." (14). "Everyone has the right to a nationality." (15).
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. Ghirda
Protection from forced marriage (Article 16)
Men and women of full age have the same rights preceeding, during and following marriage, which "shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses." While the family, which is the "natural and fundamental group unit of society" is entitled to "protection by society and the State."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary
The right to ownership (Article 17)
"Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others." And "no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property."
Image: Reuters/S. Keith
Freedom of thought (Articles 18, 19 and 20)
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion," (18). "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression." (19). "Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association." (20).
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
The right to determination (Articles 21 and 22)
"Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives." (21). A member of society has the "right to social security" and is entitled to the "economic, social and cultural rights indispensible for his dignity and the free development of his personality." (22).
Image: DW/N. Sul d'Angola
Right to work (Articles 23 and 24)
"Everyone has the right to work". Moreover, the right "to equal pay for equal work" and "to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests." (23). "Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay." (24). (Foto: Arbeitslose im Jobcenter Gelsenkirchen, Deutschland, 5.1.2016)
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte
A life of dignity (Article 25)
"Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services." And "motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance."
Image: Reuters/T. Negeri
The right to education (Article 26)
"Everyone hast he right to education," which at elementary level is compulsory for everyone. "Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights".
Image: DW/D. Pundy
Art and science (Article 27)
"Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits." In addition, "the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author." Digital reproduction of artistic works remains controversial.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Hoppe
Definitive rights (Articles 28, 29 and 30)
"Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized." (28) "Everyone has duties to the community." (29) And no State, group or person has the right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms" within the declaration. (30)
