12 December 2005
Democracies Have Duty to Defend Human Rights, Official Says, December 10, 2005 (December 10 marked international human rights day)
The following article by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Barry Lowenkron appeared in the December 10 Kuwait Times. There are no republication restrictions.
For more information about Human Rights Day, see Human Rights.
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Helping the impossible become the inevitable
By Barry F. Lowenkron
On December 10, men and women across the globe observed International Human Rights Day and marked the 57th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Today, the Declaration's precepts are embraced by people of every culture and color, every background and belief. Often at great personal risk and against all odds, citizens of conviction and courage are advocating for human rights and exposing abuses. They work to protect the rights of ethnic and religious minorities and labor rights, promote equal rights for women, and stop human trafficking. They are building vibrant civil societies, pressing for free and fair elections, and establishing accountable, law-based democracies.
The American people can be proud that the United States is the world's foremost champion of what President Bush calls "the non-negotiable demands of human dignity." Our support of human rights has been sustained by successive Administrations and enjoys strong bipartisan backing. The debate is never about whether, but how best, to work for freedom. To be sure, the United States' own journey to freedom and justice for all has been long and difficult, and it is still uncompleted. But our democratic system, our free media, our openness to the world, and the activism of our citizens, have kept us moving ever closer to our democratic ideals.
The duty to defend human rights is especially great for the United States and other democracies that enjoy freedom's blessings. Bilaterally, and through regional and global organizations: we must help fragile democracies deliver on the high hopes of their citizens for a better life. We must call to account democracies that are retreating from their commitments. And where democracy is being undermined or where there is no democracy, we must make it clear by our words and by our actions that we support the human rights activists and non-governmental organizations working to advance freedom's cause. A new, effective Human Rights Council in the United Nations whose members are committed to upholding human rights standards would strengthen freedom's hand across the globe.
Those who charge that these international efforts are just an arrogant attempt to impose our values on other countries or meddle in their internal affairs conveniently forget the words of the Universal Declaration: "every individual and every organ of society ... shall strive ... to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance .…"
Men and women everywhere want to live in liberty with dignity. Whenever people finally get a real chance to make a choice, they choose a free society over a fear society. In the span of a few generations, freedom has spread across the developing world, communist dictatorships have collapsed and new democracies have risen. And human rights defenders like Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel and Xanana Gusmao survived persecution to lead free nations. As Secretary of State Rice puts it: "Time and time again we have seen the seemingly impossible become the inevitable."
In the past few years alone, the men and women of Afghanistan and Iraq voted in their first democratic elections and began to shape their futures as free peoples. Free and fair elections were held in the Palestinian territories. We saw the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon, and throughout the Middle East, voices are calling for reform. Citizens turned out in multitudes in Georgia and Ukraine to insist upon their democratic rights. And Liberia recently held its first post-conflict elections, which resulted in Africa's first democratically chosen female President-elect.
These are remarkable advances for freedom. But as we mark the anniversary of the Universal Declaration, we also know that its promise remains far from reality in many parts of the globe-to name only a few: the ongoing killings and rapes in Darfur; the harassment and imprisonment of dissidents from Cuba to China, Belarus to Burma, Uzbekistan to Zimbabwe, and Iran to North Korea. And we see deeply disturbing attempts by states around the world to clamp down on non-governmental organizations doing freedom's vital work.
We mark International Human Rights Day with a sober appreciation of the many challenges ahead and a renewed resolve to work with men and women across the globe to help the impossible become inevitable for all humankind.
Barry F. Lowenkron is the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
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