Today and tomorrow mark major commemorative events in the global human rights calendar. The United Nations has proclaimed August 21 as the International Day of Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, and August 22 as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. Both these days are related to protecting the human rights of victims and survivors of gross violence and injustice. They help highlight how victims and survivors struggle to have their voices for justice heard and their rights to dignity upheld. The twin commemorative days are also deeply interlinked, for they underscore the need for the world to come together to right the wrongs committed against innocent lives.

While victims of terrorist attacks tend to receive attention in the immediate aftermath of the event, they are more often than not relegated to the dark corners of history in the long run. Not only the dead but also the survivors of such attacks face neglect once the limelight shifts to more pressing events. States and rights organisations alike often overlook the need to provide the survivors with physical, psychological, financial and social support to help them cope with their trauma and eventually recover. It is with keeping this in mind that UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said it is essential to remember and hear the victims of terrorism and help them rebuild their lives and heal.

The violence against religious communities, especially religious minorities, poses another great challenge today. Religion is often a major contributing factor in terrorist attacks and communal clashes. The day to commemorate the victims of violence based on religion or belief recognises the need to create awareness about the ills of religious intolerance, violence and discrimination, and calls upon states and communities to step up their efforts in promoting communal harmony, cultural and religious plurality, human rights and dignity. Moreover, the day also marks the need to recognise the acts of violence and discrimination against atheists, children, women and LGBTQI+ community persons that come together with religious intolerance.

The twin commemorative days are also an occasion to call attention to the roles of states in committing acts of terror and violence, and perpetuating the marginalisation of victims and survivors. Apart from the well-known acts of legitimate and non-legitimate violence, states often get away with committing acts of criminal negligence such as the unlawful storage of hazardous material at a port in Beirut, which resulted in a deadly explosion that claimed over 170 lives. A BBC Nepali Service report recently highlighted the threat posed by the storage of large amounts of the same hazardous material that caused the Beirut explosions in military bunkers at Swayambhu, right in the heart of Kathmandu.

From dictatorships to democracies, states all over the world have for long remained playgrounds for acts of violence against minorities of all kinds including religious, racial, linguistic, ethnic and gender. Recent events in the global scene have shown that the unholy alliance between majoritarian-nationalist politics and religious fundamentalism poses a grave threat to the lives and livelihoods of minorities. It is time for governments, activists and rights institutions to come together and work towards promoting shared values of fraternity, human rights, peace, co-existence and benevolence. May the twin commemorative days remind us once again of our collective responsibility towards society. It is only by remembering the victims and protecting the vulnerable that we can ensure that justice prevails in its truest sense.