In the face of global upheaval, international organizations are essential to protect human rights

EVANSTON, Ill. — As the world celebrates Human Rights Day tomorrow, international bodies like the World Health Organization must receive our support as essential instruments of protecting fundamental human rights in the face of global upheaval, according to Juliet Sorensen, clinical professor of law with Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Center for International Human Rights. 

Quote from Professor Sorensen:
“On this Human Rights Day, there are ample reasons for hope and perseverance, even in the face of adversity. Yesterday, the European Union adopted a global human rights sanctions regime, adopted by 27 EU foreign ministers and akin to the U.S. Global Magnitsky Act. In 2021, the U.S. will rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the WHO, essential instruments to protect fundamental human rights in the face of global upheaval. With regard to our country’s own long struggle to make America a more perfect union, the president-elect has pledged to reform our criminal justice system to eliminate inequitable disparities and restore the Voting Rights Act. 

“But saying so doesn’t make it so. Those who care about human rights should pledge on Human Rights Day renewed support of multilateral institutions that exist for the very purpose of peace and human dignity. In his Inaugural Address in 1961, John F. Kennedy called the U.N. “our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace.” 

About Juliet Sorensen
Sorensen is a clinical professor of law associated with Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Center for International Human Rights, where her teaching and research interests include international criminal law, corruption and health and human rights. She can be reached at j-sorensen@law.northwestern.edu.