Some argue that what governments do within their own borders is their own business, and that human rights are subjective values that vary from one society to another. But the Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins with the word universal because our nations agreed there are certain rights to which every person, everywhere, is entitled. Asserting domestic jurisdiction doesn’t give any state a blank check to enslave, torture, disappear, ethnically cleanse their people or violate their human rights in any other way. The United Nations is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of its member states. These hostile actions can also threaten the international peace and security that the United Nations charter obliges this body to maintain.

Source: International New York Times May 07, 2021 15:22 UTC