January 2022 Global Citizen Blog
Human Rights Under Attack & Vaccines as Global Public Goods
About The Global Citizen Blog Post

TGCI's Global Citizen Blog offers insightful opinions on issues related to global citizenship and global collaboration. The blog provides a forum whereby a variety of people---ranging from well regarded experts to citizen activists will share their views and opinions. We welcome your comments and feedback on this series. Please send it to editor@gcitizen.org


Highlights from This Month's Post

This month, we share two opinion pieces by two leading international experts about: 

  • The global assault on human rights
  • Vaccines as global public goods

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The global assault on human rights

Human rights are under global assault, writes Ben Phillips in his op-ed. 2021 saw crackdowns "on civil society organizations, attacks on minorities, the undermining of democratic institutions, and violence against journalists."

According to the conservative think tank Freedom House, in 2021 there was the most significant decline in democracy ever recorded worldwide.

And "to protect human rights," Phillips continues, "it is vital to understand why they are under threat."


Ben Phillips is the author of How to Fight Inequality and an advisor to the UN, governments, and civil society organizations.

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Vaccines as global public goods

The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened inequities between and within countries in the Asia-Pacific region. In many countries, less than 1-in-5 of the total population is fully vaccinated. 

"For the inequity to be narrowed," writes Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, "vaccines and health technologies for fighting pandemics should be recognized as global public goods."


Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP

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About TGCI

The Global Citizens’ Initiative is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with members in 75 countries. We bring together people and organizations from across the planet to promote global values and help solve world problems. We define a global citizen as someone who identifies with being part of an emerging world community and whose actions contribute to building this community’s values and practices.