Universal Declaration of Human Rights...of the Most Vulnerable

Anita Sharma

10.12.2008 Adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, in the aftermath of World War II, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 60 today. This year's theme, "Dignity and justice for all of us," is all the more appropriate this year as the world moves into global economic slow-down. During the past decade poverty has come to be seen as a human rights issue instead of pure economic problem. The poor are more likely to have their rights denied, and to be victims of discrimination and persecution. In many societies they do not have the right to education, healthcare and housing simply because they cannot afford them. And the cycle continues as they are marginalized and kept from participating in public life. The human rights of women, meanwhile, are often violated as they are discriminated against because of their gender, or denied reproductive health services and sufficient maternal care.

All of these are denials of human rights and human dignity. The good news is that world leaders have committed to promoting dignity and justice for all by accepting these human rights treaties and supporting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This global eight-point contract - agreed by 189 leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000 - aims by 2015 to reduce poverty, improve health and education, and protect the environment, through partnerships between developed and developing countries. A recent report by the United Nations Millennium Campaign suggests how to effectively incorporate a human rights framework to address the structural and underlying causes of poverty.

Since the 2000 Millennium summit, there have been important successes in the 2000-08 period - among them the reduction of deaths from HIV/AIDS by one million, the increase of school-enrollment numbers by 40 million, and the access of some 1.6 billion people to safe drinking-water. At the same time, debilitating poverty persists: more than 1.4 billion people barely survive on $1.25 a day, 50 million people die each day of preventable causes, and half the population of the developing world lacks access to decent sanitation. Even before the financial crisis hit, developed countries were cutting back on their foreign-aid commitments, with few on target to meet the agreed figure of 0.7% of gross national income.

This week millions of people from around the world re-committing themselves to the goals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and calling on governments and individuals everywhere to renew their commitment to human rights. As the world's poor struggle everyday for the most basic of human rights, we remember that human rights and the declaration will not be achieved until they protect the most vulnerable people by improving health, living conditions and education too.