As the world marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, different groups are using the opportune moment to push the United Nations and governments to make religious freedom and the protection of family higher priorities.
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(Photo: AP Images / Andy Wong)Chinese petitioners kneel among police officers while holding letters detailing their complaints they asked for justice and human rights during a protest outside the Foreign Ministry building in Beijing, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008. Two dozen people held a bold protest outside China's Foreign Ministry, using the 60th anniversary of the declaration of human rights to decry a myriad of alleged government abuses. -
(Photo: AP Images / Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi)Former Irish President and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, left, and Brazilian Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, right, United Nations Rapporteur on Children, are seen during a press conference, in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, Dec. 5, 2008. The Swiss Government initiated an Agenda for Human Rights to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was authored by a Panel of eight Eminent Persons co-chaired by Robinson and Pinheiro.
U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Release International and the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha’is joined together on Dec. 10 - the anniversary of the UDHR - in calling on the British prime minister to improve international efforts to protect freedom of religion and belief.
In the letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the three groups affirmed Article 18 of the UDHR – the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion – and remarked that today international mechanisms and government action still do not reflect the centrality of this right.
“The anniversary of the adoption of the UDHR reminds us of the distance the international community still needs to go to protect and uphold human rights. Freedom of religion is in many senses a 'first among freedoms,' a cornerstone for a number of other rights and freedoms within the UDHR,” said CSW’s chief executive Mervyn Thomas.
He went on to say that religious freedom is “marginalized at best” and is now even attacked, including at the United Nations.
“CSW and our partners call on the British government to implement the recommendations outlined in the letter and to accord freedom of religion and belief the importance it deserves,” Thomas said.
The three religious freedom advocacy groups challenged the British government to “redouble” its efforts to promote freedom of religion by making three changes: appointing an Ambassador-at-Large for Freedom of Religion and Belief; providing training within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on freedom of religion issues; and allocating of international financial and technical support to enable better protection of freedom of religion and belief.
The UDHR was adopted by the United Nations in 1948 after World War II. It clearly lays out rights and freedoms that everyone in the world should enjoy and has since become the basis of many international laws while also providing moral and legal support for U.N. action against human rights violators.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the human rights document is needed now as much as when it was drafted.
“The challenges we face today are as daunting as those that confronted the Declaration’s drafters,” Ban said in a statement.
Food emergency, the global financial crisis, and political repression in “too may countries” continue to put the world’s most vulnerable “on the frontlines of hardship and abuse,” he said.
Ban urged those who have greater freedom to not “turn a blind eye” to rights abuses in other parts of the world.
“The cascading effects of abuse and indifference can eventually engulf the entire planet,” warned the U.N. general-secretary.
In addition to the freedom of religion and the right to food access, some groups are using the human rights day to wage a battle over abortion.
The United Families International (UFI), along with a coalition of social conservative groups from around the world, will present a petition of 340,000 names at the United Nations to urge that all member nations and states interpret the UNDHR to mean that: Continue >>
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Humanright violation is a stark reality in India on religious freedom. The atrocities on the Christian community in the tribal belt in Orissa is continuing till date is known to international community. In this 60th anniversary, all who believe in peaceful co-existence should urge the UN to monitor the implimentation of the Charter in India and save precious lives of the down-troden people of the society.
Thanks for highlighting this though
FJHornik,
I just looked this up on the UN webpage too. Surely this is a free speech matter too, and supports the notion of separation between State and religion.
gs.rusty
Religious Freedom is being attacked in the UN by the Defamation of Religions Resolution. It is a one-sided resolution that would make it a criminal act to defame a religion. In the resolution, it only talks specifically about the Islamic religion. In simple terms, if the resolution were to pass, then preaching another religion in countries ruled by Islamic law would then be considered a crime and the persons found guilty could be punished to the full extent of the law. This would mean the death penalty for presenting Christianity, Hinduism, Buddism or any other religion inside any Islamic state.
I wonder how religious freedom is being attacked by the UN as Thomas claims? Sounds a little conspiracy theory to me.
Sigh . . . when I see this photo of this woman in tears, it just breaks my heart . . . Oh, Lord, comfort your people and do not forget these injustices . . .