On 20 February of every year, the countries of the world celebrate the "International Day for Social Justice", which was formally adopted by the United Nations in 2007, as a confirmation of the fact that social justice is a fundamental principle of peaceful coexistence that creates prosperity, development and the preservation of human dignity.
At a time when the world is witnessing a great state of poverty and conflict and the most prosperous societies witness the widening of inequalities, the Declaration focused on ensuring that everyone has a fair share of the fruits of globalization, which is provided through employment opportunities, social protection, social dialogue and the implementation of basic principles and rights.
Social justice is the outcome of a system of political, economic, and social choices aimed at eliminating the large economic differences between classes of society on the horizon of building that society in which justice prevails in all its aspects, rather than being confined to the justice of the law only.
The political, economic and social upheavals that Bahrain is witnessing today have significantly affected the security and stability of individuals and groups and ravaged the possibilities of coexistence. The situation has been exacerbated by the deterioration of the human rights situation from restricting freedom of expression of opinion, confiscation of freedom of assembly and association, and widespread impunity. That is alongside other violations such as arbitrary arrests, unfair trials, revocation of nationality, torture and ill-treatment, unlawful raids of homes and residential facilities, hate speeches, extrajudicial killings and others. This is in addition to discrimination in the rights of citizenship, jobs and administrative positions, scholarships, and marginalization against parts of the social components.
Besides many international resolutions and national laws of the countries of the world, social justice is still a distant dream for many people because of the political crises, economic agonies and wars that these countries suffer from, such as poverty, famines, denial of human rights and interstate wars between peoples that have put stability, equality and tolerance in peril.
The human being is in dire and permanent need for social justice, as it is an integral part of ensuring a decent life, and this will be achieved only through providing the real opportunities he deserves, and obtaining the privileges that make him a citizen of his country, and obtaining his fair share of its wealth, and guaranteeing his political rights from freedom of thought and expression, health care, education and shelter, and sincere participation in drafting the national decision.
On this occasion, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls on the government of Bahrain to pay more attention to achieving sustainable development, and it reaffirms its importance for the immediate release, compensation and rehabilitation of all prisoners of conscience, and for the need to provide justice to victims and hold perpetrators accountable, and to ensure the right of the people to achieve equality and social justice for all.