Human rights must begin at home

The legendary Nelson Mandela whose fourth death anniversary was commemorated on Tuesday, has said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Eleanor Roosevelt wife of the long serving United States President Franklin Roosevelt and described as the First Lady of the world played a key role in formulating the Universal Declaration of Human rights. She has said, “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he or she lives in; the school or college he or she attends; the factory, farm, or office where he or she works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”   

With such lofty visions in our minds the world tomorrow observes Human Rights Day with a year-long campaign being launched to mark the upcoming 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being -- regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. It is the most translated document in the world and available in more than 
500 languages.   

Drafted by representatives of diverse legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration sets out universal values and a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. It establishes the equal dignity and worth of every person. Thanks to the Declaration, and States’ commitments to its principles, the dignity of millions has been uplifted and the foundation for a more just world has been laid. While its promise is yet to be fully realized, the very fact that it has stood the test of time is testament to the enduring universality of its perennial values of equality, justice and human dignity, the UN says.   

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights empowers us all. The principles enshrined in the Declaration are as relevant today as they were in 1948. We need to stand up for our own rights and those of others. We can take action in our own daily lives, to uphold the rights that protect us all and thereby promote the kinship of all human beings.   

Unfortunately, though the then the US first lady and others played a key role in formulating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we see the present US President Donald Trump -- widely seen as dangerously unpredictable and inconsistent -- blatantly violating human rights. On Monday, arrogantly proclaiming that, “I have delivered” he violated the rights of millions of Palestinians and other Muslims by declaring that the US was recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. With the whole Arab world including the close US ally Saudi Arabia speaking out against it, analysts wonder whether it could lead to something worse than the 1967 Middle East war. Mr. Trump has also got the approval of a Conservative Supreme Court for his ban on the entry of people from six 
Muslim-majority countries.   

 In Sri Lanka it is widely agreed that the human rights situation is much better than it was before January 8, 2015 but the independent Human Rights Commission appointed by the Constitutional Council on the recommendation of the President needs to be given much more power to act as it did in the recent case of the sacking of a Grade-10 Kekirawa schoolgirl. She was sacked on the false belief that she was pregnant after she vomited in school, though the real reason was that her parents had no money to give her breakfast.   

As former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt says, “Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose. To that high concept there can be no end 
save victory.”