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World Remembers Human Rights Day

New York, New York, USA… Around the world ceremonies and events marked United Nations Human Rights day on December 10. At the UN headquarters in New York, international leaders and diplomats gathered on the anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights to remember and promote this vital concept through the conferring of Human Rights Awards.

Speaking at the presentations, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan commented that “The defense of human rights is not simply the responsibility of such brave people—it is the responsibility of us all. We must all be human rights defenders. And a good place to start is to defend those who champion human rights.” Commenting on the Declaration of Human Rights fifty-five years after its birth, many delegates affirmed its importance. “The Declaration is the refuge for the weak and the vulnerable,” stated Mr. Houssam Diab, Deputy Permanent Representative of Lebanon.

Those honored with the award which is made every five years included: Mrs. Enriqueta Estela Barnes de Carlotto of Argentina for her work as the president of the Asociación Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, established in 1977 to find hundreds of children who disappeared following the 1976 military coup in Argentina, Mr. Pufang Deng of China, founder and director of the China Disabled Person’s Federation, Ms. Shulamith Koenig of the United States, who heads the People's Movement for Human Rights Education, the Mano River Women’s Peace Network in three West African countries, and the Family Protection Project Management Team of Jordan which has helped develop and implement programs addressing domestic violence. A special posthumous award was given to the late UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil. His wife, Annie, accepted the award.

An increasingly poor record of respect for fundamental human rights, including religious persecution, repression of minorities, violence against women and children, torture and executions demands urgent attention. Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan asked for “stronger measures of protection, nationally, regionally and internationally. I call upon each government to review the adequacy of its protection mechanisms at home. I call upon subregional and regional organizations to ask what more they could do to strengthen human rights protection. I call upon the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Human Rights and the human rights treaty bodies, each to consider what more it could do to strengthen human rights protection.”

For the Seventh-day Adventist Church, United Nations Liaison director Jonathan Gallagher noted that Adventists have officially endorsed the Declaration of Human Rights and work consistently to ensure fundamental human rights such as religious freedom are respected. “Without respect for such fundamental rights and human dignity, this world would soon descend into anarchy,” he stated, adding that “most important among the basic principles is the right to freedom of conscience and religion. Everyone must be allowed the right to practice his or her beliefs, and religious liberty should be guaranteed—not just in constitutions but also in practice.” [Viola Hughes]

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