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U.S. Statement Marking Human Rights Day Delivered to the Human Rights Council Geneva, Sixty years ago, representatives from 16 nations gathered to begin deliberations on a new international bill of rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights – stands today as a landmark achievement in the history of human liberty. We observe this morning that it was 59 years ago today that the then 58 Member States of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the first time in history that a document considered to have universal value and application was adopted by an international organization -- the first time that human rights and freedoms were as meticulously and clearly stated, in a declaration deliberately simple and straightforward, such that all people could understand its import to their own lives and aspirations. Born of the strong desire for peace in the aftermath of the Second World War, the Declaration recognizes that the "inherent dignity of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world." Eleanor Roosevelt, the first chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, said that the Declaration represented “our common aspiration first voiced in the Charter of the United Nations to lift men everywhere to a higher standard of life and to a greater enjoyment of freedom.” The drafters of the Declaration knew very well the historic importance of the ideas they were putting to paper and committing their governments to uphold. Unfortunately, around the world even today, some governments
still routinely deny their citizens fundamental freedoms of speech,
assembly and worship. People in far too many places live in genuine
fear of cruel reprisals for exercising their most basic rights.
The work begun sixty years ago is far from complete. |