An ideal betrayed

There is a great editorial today in The Australian regarding the UN's Declaration of Human Rights and its shamefully feeble attempts to promote it. 60 years after its birth, the Declaration has suffered from the weakness and utter ineffectiveness of this organization.

The Universal Declaration, born of the atrocities of World War II, asserted a powerful principle: that rights are universal and do not depend on the patronage of the state. Its origins were in the principles of the Enlightenment that inspired the anti-slavery movement in the 18th century. It was not a treaty and has no legal standing. It was a common declaration of hope.

Sadly, however, the UN has been an irresponsible and careless steward of those fine ideals. The UN Human Rights Council has been hijacked by some of the world's most notorious human rights abusers and is taking the same divisive path as its discredited predecessor, the UN Human Rights Commission. What began as a clear declaration of inalienable rights has been twisted by moral equivocators.

You can read the entire editorial HERE.

Posted by Alberto de la Cruz at December 9, 2008 08:22 AM