70 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse (10–14 October 2018) we are using the occasion of this anniversary to raise awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the values it upholds. The German Publishers and Booksellers Association and Frankfurter Buchmesse have joined together with ARTE, ZDF and DER SPIEGEL with support of the United Nations (UN) and Amnesty International to create the a campaign WE ARE ON THE SAME PAGE. We are celebrating this anniversary and joining forces to demonstrate how important it is nowadays to defend these universal rights. More info >>
Kate Gilmore, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
On 10th December 1948, with acclamation by countries the world over, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was gifted to humankind. Born of the very worst that human beings can do to each other and a child of two world wars, the UDHR captures what in fact are age-old and universal longings for that particular sense of justice, inclusion and fairness which only unconditional affirmation of its first article can secure: that “we all are born free and equal in dignity and right”: Each of us to the exclusion of none of us, in the interests of all of us. As UN Deputy High Commissioner of Human Rights it is my privilege to see — every day — why that recognition matters and how much people across the world need its promise to be upheld.
With timeless relevance, the UDHR sets out life’s humanising conditions: the rights of all persons to life, liberty and security; our rights to education, health, shelter, decent working conditions and to fair trial; our rights to freedom from discrimination, from arbitrary arrest, from torture; our rights to speak up, to organize and to participate in decisions affecting us. In its aggregate effect, the UDHR gifts to us an enduring account of what makes for a legitimate, humanizing relationship between power and relative powerlessness.
Thanks to respect for the universal values enshrined in the Declaration and affirmed in the United Nations Charter, and because of governments’ subsequent efforts to uphold these principles, the dignity of millions has been uplifted, untold human suffering prevented and the foundations for a more just and sustainable world have been laid.
Just as with the air we breathe, you and I may barely notice our human rights so long as they are respected, but, as the voices of millions suffering acutely from their absence testify, we all cry out for rights when they are denied us. The UDHR gives words and standards to our common humanity and frankly, all of us should be raising our voices, and standing up, in support of that common humanity and against the policies and practices that de-humanise.
That’s why for me, the UDHR is THE stand-out text because it is also a “stand-up” text! For, tough as human rights standards are at times to uphold; inconvenient as they are to those who seek to hold power without accountability and while under pressure they remain, nonetheless they endure. Their gift persists. No other values system has spread globally so rapidly, to be incorporated into so many constitutions, laws and policies the world over. Dozens of editions of the UDHR now exist, in print and digital forms, from plain language adaptations making it more accessible to all to beautifully illustrated volumes. No other text has been translated into as many languages — 500 plus so far[1], allowing people the world over to read the Declaration and claim their rights in their own tongue
The journey for human rights over the last seven decades has taught us that while legal protections are essential, solidarity and leadership for rights are key. We owe much to the solidarity of civil society and of human rights defenders for what has progressed, and we need much more from official leaders to help bridge the gaps that remain — leadership that is rooted in robust compassion and respect for rights and not steeped in bigotry, fear or hatred.
“All of us can take this step forwards to stand up for that fundamental truth which the UDHR preserves.”
In our daily lives, in our schools and work places; from our places of worship to our palaces of entertainment; in our personal, political and community lives — all of us can take this step forwards to stand up for that fundamental truth which the UDHR preserves and to which opposition is morally inconceivable that indeed, born we all are equal in dignity and rights. Those are my go-to words from my go-to text — motivating me, and countless others the world over in our everyday lives. For the women and men of the United Nations that is our heartbeat and a cause for which so many of our UN colleagues the world over have even risked their lives. Such is the power of one text with universal appeal; a book that enshrines universal values and common humanity.
[1] The Universal Declaration of Human Rights set a world record of being the most translated text when the Guinness Book of Records recognised in 2010 that the Declaration has been translated into languages and dialects from Abkhaz to Zulu.
70th anniversary campaign: http://www.standup4humanrights.org/en/index.html
To read the text: https://www.un-ilibrary.org/human-rights-and-refugees/universal-declaration-of-human-rights-multilingual-edition_c578b5fa-en-fr-es-ru-ar-zh
To buy a copy of the book: https://shop.un.org/books/univ-declar-human-rights-70th-67906
Further recommendations:
#onthesamepage book recommendation by Srecko Horvat
#onthesamepage book recommendation by Namita Gokhale
#onthesamepage book recommendation by Laksmi Pamuntiak
#onthesamepage book recommendation by Ismail Serageldin
#onthesamepage book recommendation by Dr. Ruth Westheimer
#onthesamepage book recommendation by Arnon Grunberg
