This will mark the 58th anniversary since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal declaration of Human Rights. Sadly, after 58 years of the adoption of the Universal declaration of Human Rights we are no nearer guaranteeing every human being their human rights.

In this country, Asylum seekers fleeing persecution find themselves locked up, subjected to a harsh prison regime, not knowing what will happen to them and vilified in the popular media. The despair they face has led many to take part in hunger strikes. Many others sadly have taken their own lives.

Britain’s conduct of the ‘war on terror’ has resulted in raids on hundreds of Muslim homes across the country. Many of those arrested are subsequently released without charge, but their lives and those of their families will have already been damaged. There are also
people detained without charge in high security prisons like Belmarsh and Woodhill and others effectively imprisoned at home using control orders.

In the Middle East thousands of Palestinians and hundreds of Lebanese are being held without charge or trial by Israel. There are currently 300 Palestinian children (under 18s) and 100 women held hostage in Israeli prisons. The so-called wall, built by Israel has
effectively turned Gaza into one huge prison.

The coalition forces in Iraq do not even bother to count the Iraqi dead – clearly Iraqi human rights are not considered important. However, when a reliable estimate of 600,000 Iraqi dead is published in the Lancet, the US and the UK insist that it is incorrect. The
horrific pictures of the abuse that took place in Abu Ghraib are still with us, but we should not imagine that all is now well because of the prosecution of a few low-ranking soldiers. There are still thousands detained in prisons in Iraq.

Guantanamo Bay, described by Amnesty International as the ‘gulag of our times’ remains one of the most potent symbols of the ways in which human, legal and civil rights are trampled by the US. There are still more than 450 men illegally imprisoned there, without
charge or trial. There is well documented evidence of torture and abuse. The UK government is complicit in this abuse and refuses to act on behalf of British residents still incarcerated. However, we hear that there are even worse places, such as Bagram Airbase, the Dark Prison in Kabul and secret detention facilities in countries around the world about which we know very little. It is to places such as these that ‘terror suspects’ are kidnapped (extraordinary rendition) by the CIA to be brutally tortured.

To mark the International Human Rights Day and highlight the violations of human rights internationally and in Britain, campaigners in Birmingham, including Anti-Racist Campaign, Birmingham Guantanamo Campaign, Birmingham No Borders, Birmingham
Trade Union Congress, The Green Party, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Peace and Progress, Respect, Socialist Resistance, South Asian Alliance, Stop the War have organised a protest rally.