United Nations (UN)’s International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims is annually observed across the globe on March 24 to commemorate the human rights activist Saint Óscar Arnulfo Romero, who was murdered on 24th March 1980 after denouncing violations of the human rights of the most vulnerable individuals in El Salvador.
Purpose of the Day:
- To honour the memory of victims of gross and systematic human rights violations and promote the importance of the right to truth and justice
- To pay tribute to those who have devoted their lives to, and lost their lives in, the struggle to promote and protect human rights for all
- To recognize, in particular, the important work and values of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador.
Background:
i. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/65/196 on 21st December 2010 and proclaimed March 24 of every year as International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims.
ii. The 1st ever International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims was observed on 24th March 2011.
About Monsignor Óscar Arnulfo Romero:
i. Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez, born on 15th August 1917 in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador, was a Salvadoran Roman Catholic archbishop and a vocal critic of the violent activities of the government’s armed forces, right-wing groups, and leftist guerrillas involved in the civil conflict of El Salvador.
ii. He was the 4th archbishop of San Salvador. He was given the title of Servant of God by Pope John Paul II in 1997, and the church started the process to have him canonised.
iii. Pope Francis formally recognised Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero as a martyr in February 2015, and he was canonised as a saint on 14th October 2018.
Efforts of the UN towards Human Rights:
i. According to the study conducted in 2006 by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR), the right to the truth about gross human rights violations and serious violations of human rights law is an autonomous right linked to the duty and obligation of the State to protect human rights.
ii. The Commission on the Truth for El Salvador was created in accordance with the Mexico Agreements of 1991, to investigate serious acts of violence that had happened since 1980 and whose effects on society were assessed to require urgent public knowledge of the truth.
About the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
High Commissioner- Volker Türk
Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland.
Establishment- 1993
