Nancy AndersonIN THE aftermath of the horrors of two world wars, the United Nations was formed with the hope that there would never again be such suffering and atrocities. Early in 1947, a remarkable group of men and women, under the chairmanship of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, gathered to draft an international Bill of Rights.
Among the members of Mrs. Roosevelt's committee were a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist from The Philippines, a Canadian director of the Human Rights Division of the United Nations, a Chinese philosopher and diplomat, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate from France, a lawyer from India and a Chilean economist. Drawn from all around the world, every continent and every major religion, these men and women learned to cooperate effectively despite political differences, cultural barriers and personal rivalries and produced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Passed unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that "disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind". It aims at prevention rather than punishment. It challenges the long-standing view that a sovereign state's treatment of its own citizens is that nation's business and no one else's.
The Declaration is hailed for establishing that nations are accountable to others for the way they treat their own people. It has become the polestar for international human rights activists who pressure governments to live up to their pledges and the spotlight on abuses that might remain hidden without it.
While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the single most important document in the history of international human rights, it must be read and understood to achieve its objectives.
Eleanor Roosevelt said that documents expressing ideals " carry no weight unless the people know them, unless the people understand them, unless the people demand that they be lived".
There are 30 Articles in the Declaration. The Preamble speaks to the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
Article 1. "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
IMPARTIAL TRIBUNAL
Other Articles speak to the right to life, liberty, security of person, to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, to the presumption of innocence, to privacy and a family life, to a nationality, to marry and raise a family, to own property, to freedom of expression, to freedom of public assembly, to take part in government, to work and leisure, to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, to education and to participate in cultural life. Everyone should read the Declaration carefully.
Mrs. Roosevelt in one of her last speeches at the UN emphasised the importance of the small settings where people first learn of their rights and responsibilities: "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world.
Yet, they are the world of the individual person: the neighbourhood he lives in: the school or college he attends: the factory, farm or office where he works."
It is its attention to the 'small places' where people first learn about their rights and how to exercise them responsibly that will be the continued legacy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Celebrating Human Rights Day internationally on December 10 each year, is commendable but every day must be human rights day if all citizens of the world we live in are to truly live with freedom, justice and peace.
To achieve this ideal will require the full commitment of all of us every moment of every day of every year. We must be vigilant not only for our own rights but also for those of our fellow citizens. It is not a task for the weak of heart, but requires from each of us a restlessness, a searching and a willingness to see the good in others.
Nancy Anderson is an attorney-at-law and a member of the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights.
