Translating Words into Action

Meeting of the General Assembly
to commemorate the 50th Anniversary
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights



New York: 10 December 1998


Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Tribute is being paid today to the vision of those who drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration was the fruit of much thought about the rights to which everyone on the planet is entitled, simply by virtue of being human, and about our duties towards each other. It is a remarkable document, full of idealism, imbued with a sense of hope and a determination to learn lessons from and not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

The framers of the Declaration would not want us to spend too much time dwelling on the past or commending them for what they achieved. They saw the Declaration as a basis for the long struggle to embed a culture of human rights in society. They knew it was only a start, an important first step in seeking a better and fairer world for all, irrespective of class, gender, creed or wealth. They would expect nothing less from us than that we rigorously examine our performance since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration in 1948. They deserve nothing less than that we renew our unswerving commitment on this 50th anniversary to securing human rights for all.

Perhaps the most significant achievement in the human rights field over the past fifty years has been that legitimacy has been secured for the principle that rights are universal and indivisible. Many States which initially showed little enthusiasm, now accept this principle and increasing numbers have signed and ratified the two Covenants and at least some of the Conventions.

Our task now must be implementation: to close the gap between rhetoric and reality. Daily, in every part of the world, we see examples of the failure to put into practice the rights so clearly set out in the Universal Declaration. Despite all the legislation, procedures and mechanisms that are in place, millions are still routinely deprived of their basic rights. Millions of refugees and internally displaced persons can not return to their homes. Many of them belong already to generations born in refugees camps. Religious and ethnic minorities are persecuted; opposition to oppressive regimes is met with brutal force; those who speak in defence of human rights are silenced, imprisoned, killed; women and children are the most vulnerable to abuse; the elderly and disadvantaged are cast aside, even by resource-rich societies.

The international community’s record in responding to, let alone preventing, gross human rights abuses does not give grounds for encouragement. Genocide is the most flagrant abuse of human rights imaginable. Genocide was vivid in the minds of those who framed the Universal Declaration, working as they did in the aftermath of the Second World War. The slogan then was “never again”. Yet genocide and mass killing have happened again - and have happened before the eyes of all of us - in Rwanda, Cambodia, Former Yugoslavia and other parts of the globe.

Not only are civil and political rights being violated but we have made poor progress on economic and social rights. We speak of the right to development but what is the actual situation? Twenty per cent of the world’s population own in excess of eighty per cent of the wealth and consume eighty per cent of the world’s resources. It is shameful that people in industrialised countries should enjoy such high levels of prosperity while over a billion people are denied the most basic needs - adequate food and shelter, clean water, education, health care.

And it is not sufficient that we give assistance when disasters strike poorer countries. Generous though such gestures may be, they do not get to the root of the problem. What is needed above all is recognition of the systemic disadvantages that so many people are burdened with, how far they are removed from the ideal proclaimed in the first article of the Declaration that they should be “free and equal in dignity and rights”.

We must also meet new challenges. Scientific and technological developments in fields such as genetics, human cloning and biotechnology, are posing fundamental questions about our understanding of human rights. Other questions are posed by the potentially positive or negative role played by transnational corporations in our increasingly globalized economy.

The United Nations must rise to these challenges. I welcome the Secretary General’s commitment to integrate human rights into the UN’s programmes and agencies. Human rights form a crucial dimension to so many issues - humanitarian aid, conflict resolution, development - and recognition of this can only improve the effectiveness of the UN family. I believe important progress has been made during the past year which we should now build on together.

I ask you to join our efforts to translate the words of the Universal Declaration into action. We could pay no greater tribute to those who framed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights than by giving practical meaning to their ideas and vision. Could we not, for example, set ourselves the objective that:

* All States sign and ratify the two Covenants and the four principle Conventions within the next five years;
* All States make the Universal Declaration known to every one of their citizens; starting by introducing it to all primary education curricula;
* All States implement the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders not just formally but in a true spirit of support for human rights defenders everywhere;
* Most importantly, that all States redouble their efforts to implement the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration in full.

As High Commissioner, I pledge to do everything in my power to forge a partnership with all of those committed to human rights. I will continue to speak out for those who have no voice or whose voice is disregarded. I will also continue to work positively with States and, at the same time, to strengthen monitoring mechanisms so as to ensure that they are matching promises with action. I will draw up strategies to meet the new challenges on the horizon.

But, I need your assistance and support in my work. Let us not mark this anniversary with fine-sounding words but with deeds. That will be the surest way of keeping faith with those who, fifty years ago, framed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.