People stage a torchlight procession in front of Milan's town hall, Italy, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, on the occasion of Human Rights Day and the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Guest Column | David Wendell
International Human Rights Week is recognized in the month of December. It was established to correlate with the adoption of the United States Bill of Rights to the Constitution on Dec. 15, 1791.
On that day, the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia became the 10th state to ratify the first 10 amendments to the nation’s founding document, laying out the specific rights to which each citizen of the country was entitled. Among them, of course, was freedom of speech, the right to keep and bear arms in order to maintain a well regulated militia, the right to free assembly and to a trial by jury of your peers.
This we often take for granted in the United States, however, especially following World War II, there was a focus on the value of life on the planet, having recently been ravaged by violence, and the peoples who share the resources of the earth.
To prevent such mass destruction from occurring again, and to assure the peaceful cohabitation of all, the United Nations was formed in October 1945 as a tribunal where representatives of all nations could come together and resolve conflict, or avoid it, and create a cohesive international society.
Three years later, in its third session, the U.N. General Assembly authored and adopted Resolution 217A. Generic sounding in its legislative title, the document was more commonly known by its formal title, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
On Dec. 10, 1948, 48 of the 58 delegates of the U.N. (10 nations abstaining), voted to affirm the historic document, adopting it as the official standard for human rights around the world.
It was composed of 30 separate articles, many reflecting the U.S. Bill of Rights from 157 years before, but with updates appropriate to the 20th century. The Preamble states that the General Assembly of the U.N. “proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.”
It then enumerates what the United Nations proclaims these rights to be. The very first is a broad, sweeping, statement applying to everyone, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
The document continues with an additional 29 articles, including, among them, Article 14, which states “everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” That is followed by Article 15, which articulates the theme further, adding “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.”
Those, self evidently, are as relevant today as they were three-quarters of a century ago when economic disparity spread across the globe with war and political conflict having displaced a significant percentage of the world’s population.
The U.N. Declaration goes further, however, into greater detail, outlining, in Article 9 that “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile,” and that, according to its ensuing article, “Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.”
Perhaps its boldest statement in this regard, comes from Article 23. It states “Everyone, without discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.”
All of these may seem quite radical to certain political ideologies, but the Declaration upholds values that those of other political persuasions would find appealing as well. For example, Article 16 summarizes that “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and entitled to protection by society and the state.” It then follows that up with Article 26, which iterates that “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.”
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is, therefore, a document with which nearly all members of the human race can find some segment of commonality, helping bring all together, united, as one, although some may disagree as to the best way to get there.
This year, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, on Dec. 10, inaugurated a yearlong observation of the Declaration, to culminate with a celebration of its 75th anniversary in 2023. To show support, the office is offering the public the opportunity to demonstrate its support by adding your photo, and statement, to the U.N. Human Rights “Cheerity” Virtual Campaign Wall.
The process is simple: go to www.share.ohchr.org to add your image and post the picture at #StandUp4HumanRights. The United Nations will showcase all of them at their 75th anniversary commemorations throughout the year.
With it, you can show your face, and support, of the values for which you stand.
See you on the wall!
David V. Wendell is a Marion historian, author and special events coordinator specializing in American history.
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