Wendi’s Wanders

Bahá’u'lláh taught that an equal standard of human rights must be recognized and adopted. `Abdu’l-Baha, speaking in 1912

Today is the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To commemorate this achievement and to conclude the 16 days of activism to eliminate violence against women and children, the UK National Committee of UNIFEM (the United Nations Development for Women) arranged a parliamentary signing of its `Say “No” to Violence against Women’ petition and I went as Secretary of the committee.

The cross party event was held in the beautiful Committee 6 of the House of Commons and hosted by Vera Baird MP, the Solicitor General, while the Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP led ministers, peers and MPs to sign the petition as members of UNIFEM in the United Kingdom looked on. I was particularly pleased to see Patrick Hall MP there, along with his wife Claudia, who is a good friend of mine.

On signing the Say No to Violence Against Women campaign, Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and
Equality, said: `Violence against women is everyone’s problem - it destroys the lives of women
and children in all regions, in all social classes, and across all countries. We need to work together to end
it, and I wholeheartedly support UNIFEM and its Say No to Violence Against Women campaign. Tackling violence against women is a priority for this Government, and we have made much progress,
including tackling domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. But there is still a long way to
go, and we are determined to do more.’

It was a great way to spend the birthday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. So much hope and expectation, arising out of the horror of two world wars, is built into that document which begins with the `recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family’ as `the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world’.

However, most people do not enjoy the rights identified in the Declaration. Article 1:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

is a statement of facts. But how many people are in fact free? And how many actually enjoy the rights with which they are born? And clearly not everyone acts towards everyone else in a spirit of brotherhood.

How many Congolese and Darfurans can say that article 3’s claim that `Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person’ works for them? How many young women can say that article 16 (2) - `Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses’ - has protected them? How many Bahá’ís in Iran feel that article 18 - `Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance’ - is being observed by their government? And how many young Bahá’ís are getting higher education because that same government upholds article 26 (1)?

Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

So is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights wrong? Is it nothing more than the triumph of hope over experience? Not at all. Just as a child embodies the potential of the adult but few of the capabilities, so the people of the world embody the potential of an adult global community and civilization but as yet few of the capacities. A child takes a few steps and falls over. So does the world community. With each passing birthday the child develops more skills and is better able to manage. So does the world community. While 60 is getting on for `old’ for a person, for the world community, which is destined to last, Bahá’u'lláh says, some five hundred thousand years, 60 is still infancy. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights points out the direction of travel. Happy birthday, human rights!

Technorati Tags: Baha’i. Bahai, Baha’u'llah, `Abdu’l-Baha, Harriet Harmon MP, Vera Baird MP, Patrick Hall MP, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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