By René Wadlow

In this time when there are violent conflicts and real dangers, it is vital to come together to champion positive values and plan for common actions on this December 10: Human Rights Day.

Citizens of the World believe that building respect for human rights will help to ensure the dignity to which every individual is entitled. We are dedicated to the development of a global ethic and a consciousness of humanity as one community. Thus, we develop a deep awareness of the oneness of life.

It was in the ruins caused by the Second World War (1939-1945) that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights began to be written. The Declaration was presented to the world on December 10, 1948 from Paris, France where the United Nations (UN) General Assembly was meeting that year. In the first years of its existence, the General Assembly met in different cities until the UN had a permanent headquarters in New York.

The principle aim of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was to create a framework for a world society that was in need of universal codes based on mutual consent in order to function. The early years of the UN were characterized by the division between the Western and the Communist conceptions of human rights. Neither side called into question the concept of universality. The debate centered on which rights – political, economic, and social – were to be included in the Universal Declaration.

It was Eleanor Roosevelt who helped to craft the Universal Declaration. She was appointed the United States (U.S.) representative to the UN Commission on Human Rights and was then chosen as its chairperson. Mrs. Roosevelt’s work as chairperson was critical in integrating the world’s ideologies into a truly universal conception of human rights. There were strong-minded representatives as key members of the Commission which wrote the Declaration: Dr. Peng-Chun Chang of China, Dr. Charles Malik of Lebanon, Professor René Cassin of France, Dr. John Humphrey of Canada, Dr. Alexander Bogonolov of the Soviet Union. Mrs. Roosevelt helped to bring together into one document the political and civil rights that are the core of the Western liberal tradition with the economic, social, and cultural rights that had been at the fore of the struggles for social justice in the 1920s and 1930s.

Today, human rights have become one of the pillars of the world society. People, no matter where they live, increasingly demand respect for their human rights. They judge the institutions of government by how well these institutions respond to a comprehensive vision of human rights. Food, shelter, employment, education, and access for health care go hand in hand with demands for equitable and effective justice, the right to participate in government, to express one’s thoughts freely, and to live by one’s own moral and spiritual convictions.

We know that there are many obstacles to the full enjoyment of human rights. However, on this UN Human Rights Day we rededicate ourselves to creative action. We know that humanity is advancing toward the full development of the person and that human rights serves as a strong goal.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.