This Wednesday, Dec. 10, is Human Rights Day, and also marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR not only charted, but also elevated, human rights concerns around the globe. Nations and advocates the world over are marking a milestone this year in the continuing struggle to institute human rights principles in the consciousness of humankind.
At the center of political, economic, social and civil issues around the world, this foundation of international human rights law is said to be the first universal statement on the basic principles of inalienable human rights, and a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. The past sixty years have inspired generations of human rights defenders, yet the fight for equality of human rights for everyone remains a struggle and a constant test of our vigilance.
We are in a different era now. Sixty years have passed since a number of promises were made; still, the realities pale in comparison to the progress we have yet to achieve. The following, from Amnesty International, is an illustration of promises laid forth in 1948 as outlined in a number of the individual articles of the UDHR. What follows each is the reality we face in 2008. This is our humanitarian wake-up call to take action.
ARTICLE 1
1948 Promise: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
2008 Reality: In the first half of 2007, nearly 250 women were killed by violent husbands or family members in Egypt, and, on average, two women were raped there every hour.
ARTICLE 3
1948 Promise: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
2008 Reality: In 2007, 1,252 people were known to have been executed by their state in 24 countries; however, 104 countries voted for a global moratorium on the death penalty.
ARTICLE 5
1948 Promise: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
2008 Reality: Amnesty International documented cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in more than 81 countries in 2007.
ARTICLE 7
1948 Promise: All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.
2008 Reality: Amnesty International’s report highlights at least 23 countries with laws discriminating against women, at least 15 with laws discriminating against migrants and at least 14 with laws discriminating against minorities.
ARTICLE 9
1948 Promise: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
2008 Reality: At the end of 2007, there were more than 600 people detained without charge, trial or judicial review of their detentions at the U.S. airbase in Bagram, Afghanistan, and 25,000 held by the Multinational Force in Iraq.
ARTICLE 10
1948 Promise: Everyone charged with a crime is entitled equally to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal.
2008 Reality: Fifty-four countries were recorded in the Amnesty International Report (2008) as conducting unfair trials.
ARTICLE 11
1948 Promise: Everyone has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.
2008 Reality: Figures show that around 800 people have been held at Guantánamo Bay since the detention facility opened in January 2002. Some 270 are still being held there in 2008 without charge or due legal process.
ARTICLE 13
1948 Promise: Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
2008 Reality: In 2007, there were more than 550 Israeli military checkpoints and blockades restricting or preventing the movement of Palestinians between towns and villages in the West Bank.
ARTICLE 18
1948 Promise: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
2008 Reality: Amnesty International has documented 45 countries for detaining Prisoners of Conscience.
ARTICLE 19
1948 Promise: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
2008 Reality: Seventy-seven countries were restricting freedom of expression and the press, according to Amnesty International.
ARTICLE 20
1948 Promise: Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2008 Reality: Thousands of people are believed to have been arrested during the crackdown on protests in Myanmar in 2007. Amnesty International estimates that around 700 remain in detention.
ARTICLE 23
1948 Promise: Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to fair and equal pay, and to form and join trade unions.
2008 Reality: At least 39 trade unionists were killed in Colombia in 2007, and another 22 died during the first four months of this year.
ARTICLE 25
1948 Promise: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for their health and well-being, especially mothers and children.
2008 Reality: Fourteen percent of Malawi’s population was living with HIV/AIDS in 2007. Only three percent of them had access to free anti-retroviral drugs. One million children were orphaned there by HIV- or AIDS-related deaths.