The freedoms upheld in the historic United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights must be enjoyed by everyone, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday on the occasion of Human Rights Day.
"The Declaration remains as relevant today as it did on the day it was adopted," Ban said in a video message to a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva.
"But the fundamental freedoms enshrined in it are still not a reality for everyone. Too often, governments lack the political will to implement international norms they have willingly accepted," he said.
Ban announced that the Human Rights Day on Monday also kicked off a year-long campaign to raise awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which turns 60 on Dec. 10, 2008.
The entire U.N. family will take part in the campaign to promote the declaration's ideals and principles of justice and equality for everyone, he said.
"It is a chance to ensure that these rights are a living reality -- that they are known, understood and enjoyed by everyone, everywhere," Ban said.
Meanwhile, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, in a separate message, echoed what Ban said.
"The Universal Declaration and its core values -- inherent human dignity, justice, non-discrimination, equality, fairness and universality -- apply to everyone, everywhere, always," she said.
Arbour said the world had cause to celebrate the accomplishments made since 1948, on the road to ensuring fundamental freedoms for everybody.
But given today's growing divisions in the world, "the relevance of the declaration and the universality of the enshrined rights need to be loudly reaffirmed," she said.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article