December 9, 2008
60 Years of the Declaration of Human Rights: Celebrations and Reservations
9 December 2008, The Hague –
A year ago, the United Nations launched a campaign entitled “Dignity and Justice for All of Us” to lead up to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This anniversary will be celebrated on Wednesday 10th December 2008. The UNPO joins the celebrations that mark the Declaration’s achievements but issue a reminder that for many of our members, dignity, justice and the freedoms laid down in the Declaration remain little more than a pipe dream.
Marino Busdachin, UNPO General Secretary stated that “it is imperative we highlight the progress made by individuals, states and institutions in the fight for securing universal human rights. However, there is a difference between words and actions. During the 60 years of the Universal Declaration there has been a systematic lack of implementation of its core values on both a national and international level. Discrimination and inequality is a daily ordeal for many smaller, less well represented communities and we must not lose sight of them and their future”.
This year China demonstrated to the world its capacity to be an economic and cultural powerhouse, not least by hosting an inspirational Olympic Games. This inadvertently provided Tibet with the platform to publicize the oppression and human rights violations suffered in the Himalayan region. This attention is deserved and the UNPO hope that the global media outrage generated in the lead up to the Games will not dissipate along with the memory of the fireworks.
The UNPO would therefore like to draw attention to the example set by President Sarkozy of France for having met with the Dalai Lama in December 2008 despite the threats made by China to boycott French products and to freeze political relations between the two countries, and following their boycott of the annual China-EU summit.
“Persistence and perseverance are qualities frequently displayed amongst our members who adhere to nonviolent campaigning strategies despite unrelenting oppression, so we welcome the determined stance taken by Mr Sarkozy and hope that other heads of state enter into discussions with the Dalai Lama, a man committed to peaceful protest” said Marino Busdachin, UNPO General Secretary.
However, there are many other oppressed communities across the world unlucky enough not to have the Olympic Games or global summits to bring their plight onto the world stage. Giving voice to unrepresented people is a key component of the work of the UNPO. The Oromo diaspora in conjunction with the UNPO have been active in trying to highlight the human rights violations experienced by their communities at the hands of the Ethiopian government. As a result of demonstrations in June, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific group of States voiced support for the need for a fully functioning civil society in the region. This is especially pertinent following the news that the Ethiopia government intends to limit the reach of non-governmental organizations in the near future. The UNPO has also facilitated dialogue between European institutions and the Southern Cameroons for whom freedom of speech is still severely limited, the Uyghurs whose religious rights remain violated and the Iraqi Turkmen for whom representative governance still remains out of reach.
Climate change has emerged as a global media preoccupation, but while decisions and deals are wrangled in high level meetings, the traditional lifestyles of indigenous communities are already being compromised. The people of Buffalo River Dene Nation are one community that has reported the thinning of ice sheets and a decline in hunting stocks. At a conference entitled Climate Change, Bioenergy and Food Security: Challenges for the New Millennium organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, the UNPO called for greater inclusion of minority and indigenous peoples in discussion, since they are the first affected, the most affected and the most knowledgeable in terms of local land use. Forced migration is a repercussion of declining or overexploitation of resources putting increasing pressure on urban areas. These areas will need to make the agenda in future discussions in 2009 concerning the protection of the rights and livelihoods of minority groups around the world.
In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the President of the General Assembly, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann will award the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights to Ms Louise Arbour, Mr Ramsey Clark, Dr Carolyn Gomes, Dr Denis Mukwege, Benazir Bhutto (posthumously), Sister Dorothy Stang (posthumously) and Human Rights Watch in recognition of their contribution to promoting and protecting universal human rights. Previous winners have included Nelson Mandela and Dr Martin Luther King and we congratulate and thank not only these winners but also all the dedicated unknowns in communities around the world for their tireless work.
Whilst we regret that the rights and freedoms in the Declaration are not yet universal sixty years after its inception, we must equally realize how far the world has come. As Louise Arbour, High Commissioner for Human Rights and winner of this year’s prestigious UN award notes:
“It is difficult to imagine today just what a fundamental shift the Universal Declaration of Human Rights represented when it was adopted sixty years ago. In a post-war world scarred by the Holocaust, divided by colonialism and wracked by inequality, a charter setting out the first global and solemn commitment to the inherent dignity and equality of all human beings, regardless of colour, creed or origin, was a bold and daring undertaking”
The Universal Declaration is still as relevant today as it was sixty years ago, but we hope that progress continues to be made as more and more people join the fight for equality, justice and dignity for all.
The UNPO will be taking part in the Right Now Festival in The Hague, the Netherlands, an evening of music, debates, films, workshops and comedy with more than 25 different organizations represented. The evening starts at 6.30pm in Paard Van Troje.
For more information click here.
