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For many of us in the United States, the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR) may carry little significance. It’s
quite possible that you have not even heard of it. So why celebrate
International Human Rights Day on December 10? The Human Rights
Declaration is one way that the world community has worked to
enforce the biblical understanding that all human beings are
created in God’s image and that we are to love our neighbors
as we love ourselves. One of the first mentioned goals of the
United Nations (UN) Charter is to “reaffirm faith in fundamental
human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person.”
To those whose rights are vulnerable, learning about the declaration
is like water in the desert. For those of us who think our rights
will never be threatened, the Human Rights Declaration may be
a wake-up call.
Recently, I led a session on human rights education for a public
school in the Bronx. Many of the students I spoke to were students
for whom English is a second language, many from places like
Guatemala, Cambodia, and Kosovo. I was amazed at how these ninth
and tenth graders were drawn to and engaged in the presentation
because they had firsthand knowledge of human rights abuses
in their countries of birth. A student from Uganda remarked
that you do not soon forget the connection the UN has to upholding
human rights when a UN-marked truck brings the food that keeps
your village fed and preserves your right to a healthy standard
of living.
In the United States we also find individuals, groups, and
institutions that do not respect basic human rights. The UDHR
can be used in Christian education classes to raise awareness
among those in more secure circumstances about the nature of
suffering caused by human rights abuses both in the United States
and around the world. The UDHR can also be employed as a practical
tool in the prevention of human rights violations prevalent
but often not addressed in this country. Elder abuse, child
abuse, and domestic and community violence are situations with
which many communities struggle.
Of course, the UDHR is not magic. Waving a copy in the face
of human rights violations will not make them disappear. However,
the UDHR does exist as a vision for a world where respect for
human rights is a way of life. Human rights must become the
everyday considerations of individuals, businesses, and governments.
Such a shift in reality starts with a shift in consciousness.
Here are some practical steps:
1. Learn more about current human rights abuses.
- Two Web sites are particularly useful.
2. Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Pocket-size copies of the UDHR and ideas for educational
units on the UDHR are available from the People’s Movement
for Human Rights Education, www.pdhre.org.
- An electronic version of the UDHR can be found at www.unhchr.ch.
- To find out more about the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s
response to these issues, go to www.pcusa.org/acswp/whatweredoing.htm.
3. Speak out if you feel that human rights are
being violated.
- File a complaint with a court.
- Inform the police.
- Inform a defenders organization that can take legal action.
- Tell a human rights group to investigate.
- Tell the media.
- Get a group together for education about the violation.
That every single person in every part of this globe has certain
rights is good news and news that needs to be heard. If you
don’t have plans to celebrate on December 10, consider
some other possibilities:
- Organize an office party. Celebrate
Article 23, the right to work at livable wages.
- Organize a party at your school.
Celebrate Article 26, the right to education.
- Organize an event at church.
Celebrate Article 18, the right to freedom of thought, conscience,
and religion.
This December 10 will represent one more step for those who
have worked hard to make sure that human rights are always valued
as more than just words on a page. When you close your gathering
to celebrate human rights, use the following pledge:
We are the human rights generation.
We will accept nothing less than human rights.
We will know them and claim them,
For all women, men, youth, and children,
From those who speak human rights,
But deny them to their own people.
We will move power to human rights.
—Shulamith Koenig,
People’s Movement for Human Rights Education
Author Joel Hanisek was the 2002–2003
Young Adult Intern at the Presbyterian United Nations Office.
For more information visit the Presbyterian UN Office Web site,
www.pcusa.org/peacemaking/un,
call (212) 697-4568, or e-mail Joel
Hanisek.
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