Say yes to human rights, no to hatred

Human Rights Day is annually celebrated around the world to commemorate the day on December 10, 1948, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted a document called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Work began in 1946 by representatives of countries across the world in response to atrocities witnessed during World War II. Eleanor Roosevelt was chair of The UN Commission on Human Rights and instrumental in this landmark agreement, motivated by WWII’s devastation to promote a more peaceful and just world.

The declaration’s preamble states:  “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world...whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people.”

The UDHR is a milestone document in which the world agreed that all humans deserve fundamental rights and protections regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, politics, national origin or social status.

The document’s thirty articles declare that without distinctions all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security, freedom from slavery, freedom from torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.  The articles declare equal justice and protections under the law, the right to a fair trial and the right to seek asylum from persecution in any country.   Everyone has the right to marry, have children, to work, to receive equal pay for equal work, to form and join unions and to leisure rest.  Everyone has the right to education, to peaceful assembly and to participate in community culture and share in scientific achievements.   Everyone has the freedom of movement and residence within each state and to be free to leave and return to their country.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinions and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media.    Everyone has the right to take part in their government and to have equal access to public service.  The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government expressed in genuine elections.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.  Everyone has the right to privacy.  Everyone has the duty to respect and protect the rights and freedoms of others as we exercise our own.

Eleanor Roosevelt stated in her speech “The Struggle for Human Rights” in Sorbonne, Paris, Sept. 28, 1948:

“Freedom for our peoples is not only a right, but also a tool. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of information, freedom of assembly—these are not just abstract ideals to us; they are tools with which we create a way of life, a way of life in which we can enjoy freedom.

"Among free men the end cannot justify the means. We know the patterns of totalitarianism—the single political party, the control of schools, press, radio, the arts, the sciences, and the church to support autocratic authority; these are the age-old patterns against which men have struggled for three thousand years. These are the signs of reaction, retreat, and retrogression.

"The field of human rights is not one in which compromise on fundamental principles are possible."

The Boundary County Human Rights Task Force is founded on the self-evident truth that all persons are created equal.  It is our belief to say “yes” to human rights is the best way to say “no” to bigotry and prejudice.