Human Rights Day – the anniversary of the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – is a day to both celebrate our shared humanity and confront what threatens it. This Human Rights Day we have the chance to reflect on five areas where we can make rights a reality as we emerge from another period of turmoil. 1. The Wrath of Covid-19 Omicron, the latest “Variant of Concern,” demonstrates the danger of severely unequal access to Covid-19 vaccines. But while improving vaccine availability is critical, it is not enough. Building trust by making health care—not just vaccines—truly accessible for everyone is a critical step in preventing illness and death from Covid-19. 2. Big Tech’s Heavy Hand In some places around the world, Big Tech is even more powerful and less accountable than governments. This year’s attack on the US Capitol was a sobering look at social media’s corrosive potential as a conduit and magnifier of misinformation that can, in some instances, lead to violence. And these platforms’ efforts to tackle the harm stemming from their services have fallen far short while their business models often remain at odds with human rights. 3. Backlash Against Women’s Rights Despite important achievements by the global women’s movement, women’s rights are facing a powerful backlash in an alarming number of countries such as Afghanistan and the United States. But while 2021 taught us that hard-won rights victories need to be protected, advanced, and secured, 2022 is a chance to put pressure on governments to pass laws to protect women’s rights and enhance their safety. 4. The Power of Solidarity Beijing’s “strike hard” campaign in China’s Xinjiang region, President Rodrigo Duterte’s nefarious “drug war” in the Philippines, the Myanmar junta’s brutal crackdown on peaceful anti-coup protesters, atrocities in Ethiopia's expanding Tigray conflict. These crises, and the responses to them, offer important lessons for 2022. An important lesson, and one that has been proven to hold true, is that rights-respecting governments are more powerful when they stand together for human rights. 5. Confronting the Climate Crisis The climate crisis is taking a mounting toll on the lives, health, and livelihoods of people around the globe. Fortunately, there have been some important victories this year, thanks largely to concerted pressure by environmental and human rights groups around the globe. These positive steps will help increase accountability for the insufficient government action to address the climate crisis. Human Rights Day 2021 isn’t a day to lament the losses or fear what may come – it is a call to action. | 
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