Editorial
| Published date | 01 December 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/09240519241296687 |
| Author | Katharine Fortin,Naomi van de Pol |
| Date | 01 December 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
Editorial
9 October 2024
A tradition has come about where the Editor in Chief of the Netherlands Quarterly of Human
Rights –together with the Managing Editor –writes an editorial every December issue, reflecting
on the year that has passed. Since the last December issue went to press, it is sobering to note that
the world has gone through a period of intense turbulence. Of course, the appalling events in
October 2023 in Israel happened last year, but the ensuing war in Gaza and escalation of violence
in the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has dominated the news throughout 2024. At the
same time, horrific armed conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen and Syria –to name but a few –
have carried on too, along with climate catastrophes, rising populism and frequent attacks against
migrant and refugee rights, free speech and reproductive rights. Sometimes the news cycle covering
the polycrisis that we seem to be living in can become very overwhelming, such that when browsing
an online newspaper you don’t know whether you’re doomscrolling or just reading the news.
Amongst this negative news cycle, it is important that we do not overlook the fact there are also
events to celebrate in the field of human rights. Some notable victories at the global level include the
United Nations General Assembly resolution to start a process for the establishment of an inter-
national, legally binding convention to safeguard the rights of older people,
1
the CERD’s new
general recommendation on racial discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to health (which
is the topic of our column in this issue), the continued global shift away from the criminalisation
of LGBTQ +people,
2
the ongoing global progress towards the legalisation of same sex marriage,
3
and more states endorsing the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians
from the Humanitarian Consequences arising from the use of Explosive Weapons in Populated
Areas –to name but a few. Listing these ‘human rights successes’is important, but perhaps also
does not give due attention to the nature of the human rights movement, its actors and the space
in which it operates. To identify the real victories of the human rights movement in 2024, it is neces-
sary to acknowledge the courage and activism of human rights defenders throughout the world who
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1. UNGA Res 78/324 (13 August 2024) UN Doc A/RES/78/324.
2. In the last ten years alone, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, Cook Islands, Dominica,
Gabon, India, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, Singapore, and
Trinidad and Tobago have all repealed laws that had criminalized LGBTQ+people. See Joint Statement by UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima,
‘Decriminalization of LGBTQ+people saves lives’(UNAIDS, 19 July 2024)
presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2024/july/20240719_decriminalization-lgbtq-people-saves-lives> accessed
17 September 2024.
3. Hannah Ritchie, ‘More than 30 countries have legalized same-sex marriage’(Our World in Data, 17 May 2024)
ourworldindata.org/data-insights/more-than-30-countries-have-legalized-same-sex-marriage> accessed 17 September
2024.
Editorial
Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights
2024, Vol. 42(4) 305–308
© The Author(s) 2024
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/09240519241296687
journals.sagepub.com/home/nqh
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