Posted by The Law School
8 December 2023To mark the 75th anniversaries of the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the European Convention on Human Rights, the HRDF and ECIL organised a poster competition to reflect on the following questions:
Have the promises and the vision which these documents encapsulate been kept? What have we learned since their adoption and/or entry into force?
We were very pleased to receive outstanding posters and are delighted that Alex Cumming was awarded the first prize with a poster that we are reproducing here, together with Alex’s description:
“My poster symbolises the failures of states and non-state actors to keep the promises of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Each hour of the clock represents Articles 1-12 with the images visualising human rights violations and recent events which relate to each Article. The hand of the clock points to Article 8 in which rights must be upheld by competent national tribunals. For this, I used the overturning of Roe v Wade by the US Supreme Court in June 2022 to show how we are going back in time in relation to equal rights, specifically access to healthcare and women’s rights in the United States. Overall, I wanted to show how states must be held accountable for violating Articles 1-12 and instead of progressing, recent events have shown how we are regressing on important issues such as equal rights and freedom from discrimination.”
In second place was Charlotte Liebster who is really passionate about human rights and explains why:
I took part in the Human Rights poster competition because I have always had a passion for Human Rights. I am currently writing a research project on the Rwandan genocide and the tribunal which followed which was accompanied by praise yet, there are wars and alleged genocides taking place today and this correlation is easily ignored. It has only made my passion grow. My poster is supposed to represent all nature of people working in harmony to have their voice heard. I am a true believer that the first step to bringing about change is making said change publicised. I also believe that those outside looking in should be the voice for those who do not have one. Since reading Martin Luther King Jr’s quote ‘Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity’ at 17 years old when writing my human rights based EPQ I have made a conscious effort to stay informed and try to do whatever I can to influence others to make a positive impact on the world. I hoped, when creating my poster, it would educate and inspire people to take part in movements, debates, conversations and charities which help change happen.
Jake Vincent was the third winner and shares his reflections on taking part in International Human Rights Day with his poster:
As a devoted advocate for human rights, I took part in this competition because it was a unique opportunity to visually reflect on the milestones achieved since the adoption of the Genocide Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In crafting my poster, my objective was to encapsulate the enduring spirit of ‘Never Again’ embodied by the Genocide Convention. Through my design, I aimed to convey the perpetual significance of these human rights instruments in our collective commitment to respect, dignity, tolerance, and inclusivity. The chosen theme allowed me to explore whether the promises and vision articulated in these foundational documents have been realised over the years. Through this visual representation, my aspiration is to not only inspire contemplation and conversation about the progress made but also to shed light on areas where we have fallen short. It is my hope that this reflection contributes to ongoing dialogue, fostering a shared commitment to future development in the realm of human rights.