On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.”

PREAMBLE

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,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Well it’s a grand start, a huge sweeping statement of love, peace and freedom. The advent of a new world, freedom from fear and want.

Freedom from tyranny and oppression?

It’s too easy to list the abuses, killing and destruction of the last 60 years. I think what is important here is to revisit the vision and imagine it then and now. Is it relevant? Is it too aspirational? What have we learnt about human nature, the institutional arrangements we live with, the way we are ruled or governed?

Are we a big happy human family?

The UN feels like a marriage made in haste and on the rocks. It’s lost its will, its purpose and its values. Its time to refresh and renew those vows or move on to something new.

Here’s another questions for those in school or with kids in school: How many of your schools display the UN Declaration of Human Rights?

Take the opportunity now to send them a link to it or try and get a poster from your local Amnesty team or Human Rights Commission.

10 years ago on the 50th Anniversary I displayed a copy of the wall of the dealing room I worked in. People thought I was nuts; my American colleagues thought I was a commie….but very few people wanted to read it, to understand it, to think about it.

And maybe that’s the problem. We don’t want to think about it, it’s too hard. We might have to take some action, be accountable, question ourselves and our attitudes.

Sometimes I wonder how many member states have read this recently.

Well it’s never too late.

The 1940s was a tumultuous time for the world. A war which saw millions of lives lost and destruction on a global scale.

We saw the construction of a new financial system in Bretton Woods and the formation of a extended global brotherhood, The United Nations. But for me the real action was on December 10th 1948 when the UN made a Declaration of Human Rights.

As we approach the 60th anniversary of this hopeful statement it is time to reconsider the Declaration, examine its content and intent and ask ourselves how we see Human Rights today.

From today I’ll be posting up one article daily with some commentary and invite all readers to think about what it means for them and whether it is still relevant today or some hopeless outdated and optimistic posturing.

If you’re looking to get involved in some way then just look up your local Amnesty office and check it out.

I’ll leave with a quote from Edmund Burke,

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”.

It’s tragic to see South Africa descend back into violence and disharmony. Necklacing, a one time favourite method of killing in the apartheid era, is back in vogue. As economic pressures mount in the townships rage has intensified towards the old maxim of “last in first to get it in the neck”.

The huge wage of immigration from other African states, such as Zimbabwe, has seen tensions rise at the same time that unemployment has risen to almost 4 million. Soldiers are out in the streets and even the prosperous Cape Town has been affected by unrest.

It’s poignant that Mbeki has been propping up Mugabe’s regime of fear which has accelerated the flow of Zimbabweans fleeing the violence and impoverishment in Zimbabwe.

It seems in their efforts to erase colonialism and restore their rightful sovereignty they have developed a high level of tolerance for violence and repression. This is the same story in Burma.

It’s a sad time for South Africa which has made such progress in recent years. One can only hope the Zimbabwe situation is resolved soon and the post-Mugabe rebuilding process can begin.

That should take the pressure off the situation is South Africa as the situation calms.

It is of passing interest to those interested in karmic events that both Burma and China have experienced cataclysmic disasters within a week of each other. Does repression carry its own energy?

I’ve talked about Burma but for China this is becoming a very difficult year. It was supposed to be a huge celebration, the coming out party for the slightly post-communist leviathan and a party to show the world what an amazing country it was. Alas the Tibet demonstrations rained on that parade and now the earthquake has really taken away the focus. Indeed many Chinese were unhappy that the Olympic torch procession was carrying on as normal and this saw an immediate response by the authorities who scaled back the daily relay.

This shows that the Chinese government is very senstive to public feeling within China and is keen to always be on the right side of its citizens if not those who live outisde its borders. This sensitivity has been increasing over the last 10 years and with the Olympics putting China centre stage, the rallying call for a strong sense of nationhood has been blasted out from all points. From all accounts it seems to be working.

It’s nearly 20 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre. It holds memories for me because I was in Northern Pakistan at the time, coming to the end of nearly 2 years away backpacking and working during my OE from London, and getting ready to cross the Khunjerab Pass into Western China. The idea was to head across China and catch the Trans Siberian home. It didn’t happen. I was with my Kiwi girlfriend (now my wife!) and we met an English guy who had just crossed over from China and told us the news. We were completely cut off and had no idea what ws going on. This was from the days of getting your post from the GPO Poste Restante service. Oh for an internet cafe. It was clear then that it wasn’t a good idea to cross over so we abandoned that idea and headed back down.

China has come a long way in 20 years. Sure it still is pretty ruthless when it comes to repressing dissent or “dangerous groups” like Falun Gong. And yes it still executes a lot of criminals though they say that rate is falling. It has built an enormous economy with a massive trade surplus which has enabled it to move overseas to secure resources and assets. It is however still unsure of its rightful place in the world. It’s military continues to expand posing a threat to Taiwan as well as giving itself plenty of muscle in the worlds’ oceans historically the preserve of the US Navy and before that the Royal Navy.

2008 is a big year for China. How it handles it should give us some idea of how it will turn out in the years ahead. Can it open itself up and with that accept the good and the bad, the praise and the criticism or will it revert to control and repression. Let’s hope its the former.

Another of nature’s incredible creations, the cyclone, has wreaked havoc on Burma with the loss of life expected to be upwards of 100,000. Living around the Bay of Bengal can be a dangerous business with Bangladesh a regular guest of tragedy and Thailand more recently with the Tsunami of 2004.

Numbers of this magnitude tend to overhwhelm causing a certain numbness to appear. 90,000 or 120,000, it’s a big number. But I don’t want to dwell on that aspect of the disaster but more on what this means for Burma.

A period of searching and mourning followed by rebuilding will take place, following a similar pattern to these events, but in what framework? The miltary junta, bunch of decrepid bovver boys, has no choice but to allow the world in as it has no hope of handling this on its own. Repression yes! reconstruction nah.

If ever a message was to be heeded this is it. The Saffron Revolution was just the beginning, creating a force of energy which some might say has manifested in this terrible way. It is surely no coincidence that just 2 days away is the proposed referendum on a new constitution. A referendum where you can vote but not against it.

It’s been interesting watching the warlord generals and how they look shellshocked and dazed as the cameras focus in on them. But more than anything they look very human. Sure they have plenty of vicious thugs to carry out their torture and murder but now they look weak as they are exposed to the world.

It’s time for the world to really put the hammer down on these dictators and try and bring about some kind of change. Just being able to live without fear of being carted off to prison or a labour camp would be a good start but this may be the point at which birth, although painful, can be given to a new Burma.

News comes of Fouad al-Farhan and his release after 137 days in jail. He was detained for being critical of the Kingdom and its repressive approach to government. Following on from my previous post on human rights in Saudi Arabia, this is no surprise.

The Kingdom is very sensitive to any mention of reform or greater freedom of expression. It has huge strategic importance in the Gulf area and has always been a major bulwark for the West against Iraq and Iran. At the same time its treatment of its own citizens has left a lot to be desired. In some ways its an example of the ultimate trade off between human rights and strategic concerns.

But the key issue here is one of freedom of speech. Many organizations have worked long and hard around the world to support people like Fouad who are imprisoned on no charge and on spurious grounds at best.

Amnesty is one and needs no introduction but Index on Censorship is another organization doing great work in preventing and informing us on cases of repression and curtailment of speech.

It’s a cause all bloggers should support.