The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 60

Transcript

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be 60 years old on the 10th of December, 2008. It was written shortly after World War II and adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on the 10th of December, 1948.

Some people have objected to the Declaration, saying that it was written from a Western cultural perspective. Some political leaders have said that sometimes we must suspend human rights for certain people, such as suspected terrorists. Those people are wrong. Politicians and others often violate people's rights, but human rights belong to all people everywhere. Violations of human rights are crimes against all of humanity.

Recently UNESCO published an interview of Stéphane Hessel, a French-German diplomat and writer who participated in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In response to criticisms of cultural bias, Hessel waid:

Human rights are inalienable and indivisible. We must absolutely resist relativism. We cannot plead cultural differences to deny them. Moreover, western countries can be just as guilty, look at the prisons in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. It isn’t because they’re western that they’re any less responsible. We have to remain faithful to the principle of universality – it is fundamental.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is one of the most important documents in human history, certainly the most significant statement by world leaders in the 20th century. The Declaration is avilable in over 337 languages. It should be taught in every school in every country. I urge teachers everywhere to read it and think about how you can present it to your students. The world will be a better place if we promote human rights for everyone on Earth.