Helmut Melzer
Only four out of ten (42 percent) in 28 countries worldwide believe that everyone in their country enjoys the same human rights. This result of a study by the market and social research institute Ipsos gives rise to doubts about how universal human rights actually are. While one in five (20%) is not positioned on this issue, one in three (33%) bluntly states that not everyone has the same human rights in their home country. Interestingly, Germans and Chinese see their country here above average positive, each almost two-thirds (63%) believe in equal human rights. In South Africa (25%) and Italy (28%), the picture is completely different. Only one out of three (31%) believes that human rights abuses are a problem in other countries, but not really in his. Four out of ten reject this statement, confirming that they have committed violations in their home country. One in four can not decide on this question. The only country in the 28 polled countries where a majority (55%) believes that human rights are not a problem in their country is Germany. Especially in Colombia (69%), South Africa, Peru and Mexico (each 60%) large majorities are taking the opposite.
Most citizens (78%) agree that a law protecting human rights is important in their country, with only six percent disagreeing. Especially in Serbia (90%), Hungary (88%), Colombia (88%), South Africa (86%) and Germany (84%) one is of the opinion. Interestingly, in Brazil (12%), Saudi Arabia (11%) and Turkey, this view is barely represented. Even if large sections of the population consider human rights important, only one in two respondents (56%) say they know a lot about them.
The findings are from the Global Advisor study conducted by 2018 on the Ipsos Online Panel among 23.249 individuals in 28 countries.
