United Nations Human Rights Day

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 17 — The United Nations-sanctioned Human Rights Day is celebrated throughout the world on December 10th of every year and, in a Malaysian context, the main purpose of having a Malaysian Human Rights Day is for Malaysians to celebrate their entitlement to the rights that are inherent for every human being.

On Human Rights Day, we celebrate with great enthusiasm the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that marked a critical and crucial turning point in human history as the first international agreement setting out freedoms, rights and entitlements for all humanity to claim.

Sixty years ago, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first international proclamation of the inherent dignity and equal rights of all people. To this day, this declaration remains the single most important reference point for discussion of ethical values across national, ideological and cultural divides.

It affirmed that the force of a common vision and shared ideas of harmonious coexistence can prevail over wanton destruction, never-ending hatred and raw brutality. The recognition of our inherent kingship in rights, of our common claim to a life in dignity, of our right to stand up and be counted, irrespective of our color or creed, gender or status, race or religion, applies today as it did in 1948.

The UN rights declaration has, however, exposed among other things, that:
- Its enlightened vision of individual freedom, social protection and economic opportunity is still unfulfilled;
- There is a heightened security agenda that is the movement between countries of prisoners and suspects of terrorism without due process of law;
- For women all over the world, domestic violence and discrimination in employment is a daily occurrence and a reality in too many countries to count;
- The right to information is denied to millions through control of the press, censorship and media intimidation;
- Minorities suffer stigma, discrimination and violence, particularly in developing countries;
- Armed conflict, child labour and authoritarian rule have not been defeated;
- Racism, intolerance and discrimination still represent some of our greatest human rights challenges;
- Rape, and related forms of sexual abuse and violence and every imaginable assault against women, often go unpunished.

At least a billion very poor people that make up 20 percent of humanity are denied on a daily basis the basic rights to adequate food and clean water. Can we then claim to be making progress toward fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals of the UN? What we need are effective resources, a greater sense of urgency and a commitment to long-term goals.

Generally speaking, human rights are those rights and freedoms that everyone has from the moment of birth because they are human beings. The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) also considers this celebration as a means to raise awareness of human rights issues.

Since Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-cultural nation, SUHAKAM, being a national human rights institute, is of the opinion that it should provide for a healthy, rational and reasoned discussion of the human rights issues at hand that affect the wellbeing of individuals and the nation.

The UN human rights declaration envisaged a world in which every man, woman and child lives in dignity, free from hunger, violence and discrimination, enjoying the benefits of education, healthcare and housing. Despite advances in law, policy and practice, serious implementation gaps remain in protecting people from fear, injustice and inequality.

All too often, attacks on the universality of rights continue to stand as barriers and block the implementation of human rights programs. What this world needs is men and women of good caliber and substance who will exercise their rights and stop such atrocities.

The world may have changed by leaps and bounds, but what has not changed and will never change is the recognition of our inherent kingship in rights, of our common claim to a life of dignity. And this dignity no one can take away, for we are all children of God.

The meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, during which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on Dec. 12, 1948, at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, applies as much today as it did in 1948.