Talking Points: December 2008

60^th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

About the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Declaration was drafted by Eleanor Roosevelt and others after World War II and was adopted by the United Nations on December 10^th, 1948.
The Declaration has 30 Articles that spell out human rights, including Article 3 which states, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”
The Declaration states that people have a right to be free from slavery, servitude and torture.
Article 7 states that all people are equal before the law and are entitled without discrimination to equal protection of the law.
The Declaration details specific protections for labor rights, including the right to just and favorable working conditions, the right to form and join trade unions and the right to equal work for equal pay.
The Declaration includes freedom of religion and freedom of political affiliation and the right of all people to freely participate in their government.

Human Rights in the U.S.

Many human rights defenders recommend that the U.S. re-establish the Interagency Working Group on Human Rights. The group, which was established by President Bill Clinton and essentially dismantled by the Bush Administration, was responsible for coordination among federal agencies on human rights issues. The Group would be responsible for responding to human rights complaints by international organizations, reviewing legislation for conformity to human rights obligations and performing an annual review of human rights allegations against federal agencies.
The legacy of the Bush Administration included one of the most blatant violations and abuses of human rights at home: the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. The next president must work to uphold domestic human rights and can do so by addressing these issues in his Inaugural Speech, first State of the Union Address or a separate but high profile speech dedicated to domestic human rights issues.
Other domestic human rights issues include the racial wealth gap, the gender wealth gap, the lack of affordable housing in the U.S., racial discrimination and profiling, unemployment, poverty and health care. Some 46 million Americans are without health insurance.
Although only 8% of Americans can identify the Universal Declaration of Human rights by name, 82% believe all people have basic rights and recognize that principle as a core part of American identity. 2/3 of Americans believe the government should expand programs that guarantee human rights.
Our credibility abroad on human rights issues relies on our performance at home. If the U.S. government does not respect and uphold human rights at home, other world leaders who have human rights abuses could point to the U.S. as hypocritical.

U.S. war on terror and international human rights abuses

The U.S. has broken international treaties in its pursuit of terrorists in the War on Terror, including condoning torture of prisoners and imprisoning people at Guantanamo Bay without trial indefinitely.
When the world witnessed the pictures of U.S. military personnel engaged in humiliation and torture of people in Abu Ghraib prison, the U.S. lost credibility in the world as a defender of human rights and was instead viewed as a violator of human rights and international treaties against torture and inhumane treatment.
Many human rights defenders are calling on President-elect Obama to provide redress for the abuses that have occurred, stop the military commissions and instread prosecute terrorist suspects in federal court, as well as reject preventive detention (detention without trials) as an alternative to prosecuting terrorist suspects.

InInternational Human Rights

Although we’ve come a long way in 60 years, there are still serious human rights abuses occurring worldwide. The U.S. can re-enforce its commitment to upholding human rights and working with international groups on human rights issues in other countries by signing onto international human rights treaties and adhering to those treaties in all its actions.

WEB LINKS:

US: Human Rights Agenda for the New Administration (by Carroll Bogert, Human Rights Watch, November 12, 2008)

Human Rights at Home: A Domestic Policy Blueprint for the New Administration (by Catherine Powell – co-written with Ajamu Baraka, October 2008)

International Convention on the Elimination all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) Shadow Report 2008

Hold leaders accountable for fair, quality health care (by Kim Abbott, Missoulian, November, 2008)

Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

U.S. Human Rights Network

Montana Human Rights Network

North Dakota Human Rights Network

Breakthrough

Human Rights Watch

American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Program