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DAVOS, Jan. 18 (PTI) Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk said on Wednesday that countries that violate their human rights obligations pose a threat not only to their own citizens but to the whole world.
During a session on democracy during the World Economic Forum’s 2023 annual meeting, she also said the war in Ukraine was not just a war between two countries.
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Matviichuk said it was a war between two systems — authoritarianism and democracy.
She directs the Center for Civil Liberties, a Kyiv-based nonprofit that will receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 and works with people who have survived Russian captivity.
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It has been almost a year since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The war has resulted in a humanitarian crisis, soaring energy prices, disrupted supply chains, a cost of living crisis and food insecurity.
“As the people of Ukraine, we are fighting for our democratic choice, just for the chance to build a country where everyone’s rights are protected, the government is independent and accountable, the judiciary delivers justice, and the police do not crack down on student demonstrations,” she said.
“A victory for Ukraine is not just about restoring international order and driving Russian troops out of the country…A victory for Ukraine is about success in democratic transition and building sustainable democratic institutions,” she added.
The human rights activist further said Ukraine’s success would have huge implications for the future of democracy in Russia itself and other countries in our region where “freedom has shrunk to the space of a cell”.
“So in this regard, we Ukrainians ask for the support of the international community to allow Ukraine to win as soon as possible.”
Looking back at her Nobel speech last year, she said we must return to the meaning of human rights.
“Human rights are a value, it’s not just a word we have to repeat because it should be heard. It means that human rights must form the basis for political decisions, such as internal policy and external policy on economic interests and security issues as well So,” she pointed out.
“We are responsible for everything that happens on this planet. A country that systematically violates its human rights obligations is a threat not just to its own citizens, but to the region and the world,” she said.
She also warned that new technologies open up the possibility of consolidating horizontal networks and manipulating public opinion by controlling information flows and analyzing personal data.
“Our future in this digital age may look very different … We must find a new way to protect free speech, access to information and privacy protections.”
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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