PARIS (AFP) — Six decades after the United Nations endorsed the fundamental principles of our shared human rights, campaigners Wednesday demanded action to defend these values against the worst abuses.
While for some the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was cause to celebrate great advances in dignity, angry voices were raised in countries such as China, Zimbabwe and Greece.
In China, where the years since the declaration have seen enormous economic advances but iron-fisted one-party rule, several human rights activists were rounded up and arrested in the days leading up to the anniversary.
Police detained at least four activists after 300 intellectuals, dissidents and writers signed Charter 08, an open letter published online calling for democracy in China and timed to coincide with the celebrations.
In Zimbabwe, black-robed lawyers marched on Parliament and the Supreme Court to protest human rights abuses -- including the kidnapping of activists -- by supporters of President Robert Mugabe's beleaguered regime.
"Violations of economic and social rights have ascended to new heights as Zimbabweans are shoved deeper into poverty as the country's economic meltdown descends to unprecedented lows," their petition read.
Meanwhile in Greece, young demonstrators rioted for the fifth straight day in protest at the slaying by police of a 15-year-old boy.
Other countries saw lesser violations of the spirit of the 1948 Declaration, such as in Iran, where state agents confiscated rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh's passport to prevent her from flying to Italy to receive an award.
Against this backdrop, champions of human rights were gathering in Paris to mark the anniversary.
Born out of the trauma of World War II, the principles enshrined in the accord shaped modern concepts of human dignity and served as a template for international rights conventions that followed.
Ninety-year-old Holocaust survivor Stephane Hessel was to read its preamble before world officials, artists and rights groups at 8:00 pm (1900 GMT), in a ceremony at the Palais de Chaillot, where it was adopted on December 10, 1948.
"Still today, it is a text worth reading. It is perfectly relevant. All the more so because it has not been upheld -- and it is asking us to fight for it," Hessel, who helped draft the declaration, told AFP.
"We live in a world that tramples on human rights all the time."PARIS (AFP) — Six decades after the United Nations endorsed the fundamental... more
"20 Human Rights "Mercenaries" Arrested for Human Rights Day in Cuba
On their ways to the commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
HAVANA -- Representatives of Cuban dissident groups on Tuesday denounced the arrests of at least 20 activists and said that they would not change their plans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights scheduled for Wednesday.
Marta Beatriz Roque, the head of the Agenda for the Transition, and Elizardo Sanchez, of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, told Efe that among the opposition figures arrested are Jorge Luis Garcia "Antunez," Guillermo Fariñas, Iania Yanes Contreras and Lazaro Alonso."
50 years of totalitarian dictatorship and systematic human rights abuses."20 Human Rights "Mercenaries" Arrested for Human Rights Day in Cuba
On their ways to... more
Amnesty International is launching 'You Are Powerful'to celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' 60th birthday. Grab the embed code & post it everywhere you can - Help make UDHR a reality.Amnesty International is launching 'You Are Powerful'to celebrate the Universal... more
Amnesty is calling on people to take action to help make the UDHR a reality. It is launching a compelling new online film, 'You Are Powerful', showing the power of individuals to protect the rights of people all over the world. The film initially shows ordinary people in their everyday environments then shows them again, this time amid scenes of human rights abuse, protecting and helping individuals at risk.Amnesty is calling on people to take action to help make the UDHR a reality. It is... more
The 30 articles of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights read aloud by artists, advocates and children in support of the 60th Anniversary of this UN document.http://www.humanrightsactioncenter.org presents
The 30 articles of The Universal... more
Eleanor Roosevelt addresses the United Nations on the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
SIXTY YEARS ago world leaders met in Paris to set out a new direction for humanity. The world had just emerged from a brutal war in which tens of millions died, the holocaust and other unspeakable acts of atrocity were committed and two atomic bombs were dropped on civilian populations. In 1948 the new Cold War was beginning, Gandhi was assassinated and apartheid laws were introduced in South Africa. Much of the world still laboured under the yoke of colonisation.
Set against this background the vision document which politicians unanimously agreed on December 10, 1948, was a triumph of hope and optimism. Sixty years later, this Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) remains one of the most important documents of the 20th century. It has become the inspiration behind a global movement, and sets the benchmark for the whole world to attain, and against which we all can be judged.
Proclaiming in ringing terms that "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights," the 30 articles of the UDHR set out in unprecedented detail the standards of dignity, respect and justice to which everyone is entitled, simply because they are human.
Human Rights Activist Jack Healey talks about the Universal Declaration of Human Rightshttp://www.causecast.org
Human Rights Activist Jack Healey talks about the... more
Philosopher A.C. Grayling has launched a daily blogging campaign, celebrating the ten days leading up to the 60th year anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights on December 10. In his first installment, Grayling marvels at what truly was one of the most impressive accomplishments of this past century.
On December 10 1948, the member states of the United Nations, assembled at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, did a truly remarkable thing: they adopted without dissent a declaration stating that because human rights constitute the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, all peoples and nations should strive to observe them and promote respect for them. And then, in 30 unequivocal paragraphs, the declaration listed what those human rights are [emphasis mine].Philosopher A.C. Grayling has launched a daily blogging campaign, celebrating the ten... more
