Mr. John Mills, Media and Information Officer to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the High Commissioner Mary Robinson was in Tokyo for an official visit. She had given a speech at a regional seminar on human rights organized by the United Nations University (UNU). In it, she argued that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights embodied the legal, moral and philosophical beliefs held true by all peoples and from that it derived its force. Mrs. Robinson went on to warn against "tampering" with that document.
After leaving Japan on 29 January, the High Commissioner would spend the weekend in Davos, said Mr. Mills. She would then leave for New York to participate in meetings of the Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Development Group.
Asked by a correspondent on whether anyone was actually trying to "tamper" with the Declaration, Mr. Mills replied that various bodies, such as the Interaction Council, had come up with proposals, including its redrafting or even making an alternative declaration. Experts were asking if the Declaration was still relevant after 50 years; however, the High Commissioner felt that " we tamper with it at our peril " and affirmed its abiding universality.
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