On December 10th, 1948, representatives of the nations of the world came together at the United Nations, to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Former First Lady and member of the United States delegation to the United Nations Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the chief architects of the landmark document.
“We have found that the conditions of our contemporary world require the enumeration of certain protections which the individual must have if he is to acquire a sense of security and dignity in his own person,” she wrote.
The date is commemorated with the annual celebration of Human Rights Day. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Robert Destro noted it is a celebration of what we hold in common:
“We celebrate Human Rights Day as a way of commemorating the fact that people from all over the world, from different cultures, different religions, came together to agree that human rights should be protected across the world.”
The United States and the Administration of President Donald Trump, remain committed to these important principles:
“Human rights are important to this administration and to the United States government generally, because our entire system, the Constitution, is based on the, the inalienable value - the human dignity of the human person. So we have rules like one man, one vote, because every person counts. … Each person is unique. All of those basic things that we Americans take for granted in the Bill of Rights ... are built into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and so we need to value those.”
These include rights “against torture, the right to a fair trial, the right to fair labor, freedom from arbitrary arrest, freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom to associate and freedom of religion,” said Assistant Secretary Destro.
“The United States government uses this opportunity to remind other governments that they have an obligation to protect their people,” said Assistant Secretary Destro. “It's a time when the whole world can come together and reflect on what we owe one another.”
“There's not a culture in this world that doesn't have a variant of the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Well, if you understand that rule, you also understand human rights.”
