Ann Garvie, International President

 Human Rights Day 2014

"Soroptimists ‘Your Energy is the Enabler’.

The greatest mistake you can make in life is
to be continually fearing you will make one”. 

International
Human Rights Day is pivotal to the Vision and Mission of every Soroptimist
globally, and to humankind worldwide. Human rights mean exactly that, there should be basic human rights for
all, but regrettably, they are not enjoyed by ALL.

So many are denied their basic human rights, because of conflict, war, violence, displacement, colour, creed and
fear. Whom
in civil society is genuinely striving for the down trodden, the vulnerable,
the refugees and the forgotten? Is it the activity and the interventions of the United
Nations, governments, faith leaders, non-governmental organisations, charities
or well intended individuals who are making the difference?

One
should perhaps acknowledge that all mentioned are of the belief that their
interventions are the salvation of those who are persecuted, forgotten or
abandoned by civil society. This is the twenty-first century, yet there are
more wars being fought globally.

There
is evidence that the number of people trafficked, and led into modern-day
slavery continues to rise, as illustrated in the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime’s Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2014.
I was privileged to be present at the launch of the report which gave insight into startling data.

Sadly
the statistics illustrate the continuation of human rights violations. No
country is without the scourge, and thus no Soroptimist can, nor should be
complacent.

On
a very positive note there is robust evidence that the programme work undertaken
by Soroptimists, locally, nationally and internationally is having a bearing
upon the awareness raising and advocacy work, which is highlighting their plight".