by Robert Wilkinson
73 years ago on December 10, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, said to be the most translated document in the world. It declares our fundamental rights as individuals and what we should expect from society. An enlightened document drafted by pioneer humanitarians, it clearly states universal principles of a better human ideal.
It is founded on the principles of dignity, liberty, equality and brotherhood, and outlines both basic and societal rights (personal, social economic, and cultural) of individuals, as well as basic freedoms. It is a remarkable document in its scope and depth of universal rights, and offers worthy ideals we can all attempt to bring to every part of our existence. If we all walked this talk, the world would be a much better place for each of us and all of us.
It is a part of the larger International Bill of Human Rights, which consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As these have been ratified by many nations, they are officially international law.
Here is the direct link to an English version of The Universal Declaration on Human Rights. More can be found, as well as translations into countless languages, at the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which is the "official home page" for the document. (For those wanting the exact time, I found a source that said the vote began at 11:56 pm in Paris. That source has since vanished, but you can find out more by reading the official UN transcript of the proceedings here: The 183rd Plenary meeting on the UDHR. The chart is at the bottom of this article.)
In past years people commenting added a wish that the United States would endorse the International Criminal Court (along with Sudan and Israel), along with the UN Children's Bill of Rights. It was noted that we’re an outlier when it comes to the ICC, since “122 countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Out of them 34 are African States, 18 are Asia-Pacific States, 18 are from Eastern Europe, 27 are from Latin American and Caribbean States, and 25 are from Western European and other States."
Here’s the link to The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
To note, UNICEF International is the extraordinarily effective international organization, not the bloated and corrupt organization that used to be called the US Committee for UNICEF, (now UNICEF USA) here in the US. I tried to work with the US Committee in the 80s, and they were as inefficient, indifferent, and as corrupt as it gets. UNICEF International and UNICEF USA are two different organizations entirely. The international organization has my highest respects.
In a world where so many take so much for granted while so many others suffer needlessly, this may remind us of the ideal we are challenged to make real, both individually and collectively, in the new Era rapidly dawning. Aum Namah Shivaya!
© Copyright 2021 Robert Wilkinson
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