Celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and foundation of dignity | Opinion
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With the creation of United Nations (U.N.), the international community vowed to never again allow atrocities like those of World War II happen again.
World leaders decided to complement the U.N. Charter with a road map to guarantee the rights of individuals everywhere. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was first considered in 1946 at the first U.N. general assembly.
The work was assigned to the Commission on Human Rights, which was made up of 18 members from various backgrounds. Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, chaired the UDHR drafting committee and was the driving force for adoption of the UDHR.
The entire process of creating the UDHR was completed in less than two years and was adopted by the U.N. on Dec. 10, 1948.
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Theme for this year: The Foundation of Dignity
The UDHR, its preamble and 30 articles represent the universal recognition that basic rights and fundamental freedoms are inherent to all human beings, inalienable and equally applicable to everyone, and that every one of us is born free and equal in dignity and rights.
At the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, we are carrying on the mission of the Declaration by protecting the rights of all Tennesseans. The UDHR basic principle is that everyone has human rights that are interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.
The articles include the right to decent housing, education, the right to be free from discrimination of any kind, to have free thought and speech, to vote, to be free from violence, to have equal access to public service, and to have fair working conditions.
This serves as the foundation for this year’s theme which is: “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The Foundation of Dignity.”
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Join annual celebration of Human Rights Day
A celebration will occur virtually on Thursday, Dec. 9 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The speakers are: David Plazas, director of opinion engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee, and Zulfat Suara, Metropolitan Nashville Council Member at Large. Suara was a 2017 recipient of the Outstanding Service Award for Human Rights.
Individuals will be honored with awards for their human rights advocacy and activism. Timothy Hughes, activist in public policy and social justice, and Joseph Gutierrez of the Dan and Margaret Maddox Fund will receive the Rising Star Award.
Judge Rachel Bell will receive the Outstanding Service Award for developing a community court to focus on preventive, diversionary, and restorative justice initiatives.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is being presented to Ms. Andrea Conte, former first lady of Tennessee and founder of You Have the Power, and to the Rev. Enoch Fuzz, pastor of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church.
A committee of human rights organizations, nonprofits, and advocates, including the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, Metro Human Relations Commission, Tennessee United for Human Rights, the Church of Scientology, and others, work together each year to plan the event.
Planning committee chair Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Church of Scientology in Nashville, notes: “Each year on Human Rights Day, we look at challenges — those we have overcome and those we face. We hope that a brief look at our victories will give us the hope and strength to reach into the future.”
Eleanor Roosevelt asked and answered the following question: “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home — so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seek equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”
The 2021 awardees are the living example of concerted citizen action. Our challenge is to work across our differences and positions so we can create a united tomorrow.
Join us on Dec. 9, 2021. Please register at https://tnuhr.org.
Beverly Watts is the executive director of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Human Rights Day: Celebrate foundation of dignity in virtual event
