The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Whereas, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Whereas, disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people.

These opening words of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, whose 60th anniversary we celebrate this year, help us to understand the dignity and value of the human person. They were first said in 1948 after the most vicious of inhuman atrocities on a scale never before endured by the human species.It was just after the horrors of WWII that the nations of the world realized the evil that had been perpetrated on millions of innocent people. The unspeakable horrors of torture, genocide, and mass murder are the shocking evidence that human beings are a flawed and dangerous species capable of the destruction of their entire species, every other species and even the planet itself.

The human race came together in 1948 to say never again would such atrocities be allowed to rise unchallenged or occur with impunity. Once the universal rights of the individual were established "once and for all," they would be protected and defended by all nations who declared they would honor and uphold them. Unfortunately, the rule of law and respect for the individual are weak when the lust for power, crass desire and destructive selfishness sweeps away the rights of others.

We can see the global crises of the present in the greed of the recent past. The global economy is at the brink of implosion, and millions are on the brink of starvation. The rights of others are almost completely forgotten and ignored.“Never again,” they said. Yet here it is again, staring at us from the television, the newspapers and the internet. The bloated bodies of the hungry, the shrunken bodies of the cholera victims of Zimbabwe tell of a world spiritually paralyzed and the declaration of human rights becomes nothing but a wet sheet of paper. Then there is the Eastern Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and before that Palestine, Rwanda, and Bosnia.

"Never again" is all too frequently repeated.The few that strive to promote and persuade mankind to embrace the values of generosity, peace, cooperation, respect, equality, compassion and care, are the people whom we need to be, united in our goal of making those universal rights a reality for as many as possible.

Fr. Shay's columns are published in The Manila Times, in publications in Ireland, the UK, Hong Kong, and on-line. Contact Fr. Shay Cullen at the Preda Center, Upper Kalaklan, Olongapo City, Philippines. e-mail: preda@info.com.ph Visit www.preda.org for more articles.