International Human Rights Day: Our rights, our future, right now!
Interview with FAU human rights expert on Human Rights Day
“Our rights, our future, right now” is the motto of today’s International Human Rights Day. It is intended to draw attention to the importance of human rights for the present and the future. But what is the state of human rights and what challenges do research and society face? An interview with Prof. Dr. Grażyna Baranowska, who holds a professorship at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU).
Professor Baranowska, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has 30 articles. If you look around the world at the moment: Which human right are you most concerned about?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was an important breakthrough because it contains so many different rights: from the prohibition of torture to the right to effective legal remedies, freedom of expression and the right to work. In different countries and contexts, different rights are a cause for concern. However, if I were to point to one article, I would choose Article 1, which makes it clear that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. This right is not recognized in some countries for women, in others for migrants or people with disabilities. As it is a basis for the protection of human rights, such situations are particularly worrying.
One of your research areas is human rights violations at borders. What course should be set here in the world – and who can set it?
The basic legal situation at borders is clear: states are not obliged to allow all people into their territory, but must consider the right of people at their borders to international protection. There must be no mistreatment or torture at borders. States are obliged to implement these rights at their borders and should ensure that these rights are guaranteed at the borders when returning people to other countries. Of course, the legal situation can always be improved, but in my opinion, the consistent implementation of existing rights by states is a first step towards protecting human rights at borders.
The topic of migration is currently the subject of heated political debate. How can scientists conducting research in this field manage to separate their personal stance from their research?
Of course, scientists’ personal attitudes often influence their choice of research fields and topics. In actual research, however, this influence is minimal, as it is guided by methods and questions. In controversial political discussions, the question repeatedly arises as to when and how scientists should and can intervene with research findings. Numerous studies show, for example, that search and rescue missions do not increase the number of migrants in the central Mediterranean. However, it is precisely this argument that is repeatedly used to refrain from search and rescue operations. Regardless of the personal stance of the researchers, it remains a major challenge to bring research findings to the public in heated political arguments.
What challenges does human rights research pose for researchers, but also for politics and society in these times?
In every area of human rights research, there are challenges that are also relevant to politics and society. In addition to migration issues, scientists at FAU are researching autocratization and human rights, for example – a highly relevant topic for society, as there are autocratic tendencies in liberal countries as well as in many autocratic states. Important issues are also being investigated in the research area of “Business and Human Rights”, which is strongly represented at FAU, for example in connection with the Supply Chain Act. Another key challenge, not only for human rights research, is guaranteeing freedom of research.
Prof. Dr. Grazyna Baranowska has held the Chair of Migration Law and Human Rights at FAU since 2024. Her research focuses on disappeared persons, human rights violations at borders and memory laws. She is also part of the Center for Human Rights Erlangen-Nuremberg (CHREN) at FAU.
More information:
Prof. Dr. Grazyna Baranowska
Chair of Migration Law and Human Rights
grazyna.baranowska@fau.de