SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MESSAGE ON OCCASION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
Press Release
SG/SM/6120
HR/4312
SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MESSAGE ON OCCASION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
19961205 Following is the text of the message of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on the occasion of Human Rights Day, 10 December:On this Human Rights Day, the international community rededicates itself to the universal goal of defending fundamental freedoms and promoting basic human rights wherever they are threatened. We re-emphasize that human rights constitute one of the basic pillars of the Charter of the United Nations and of the civilized order that it enshrines.
Peace, human rights, democracy and development are the daily work of the United Nations. All around the world, the United Nations is working hard to prevent and resolve conflict, and to offer countless millions new hope for a better and more peaceful future.
Peace and development cannot be achieved in the absence of basic human rights. The right to life, freedom from ill treatment and torture, equality before the law, and freedom of expression are all fragile freedoms which require constant protection and vigilance. Equally, lasting and meaningful development requires a commitment to upholding fundamental economic and social rights, such as the right to food, shelter, work, education and health care.
The United Nations has worked hard over the last 50 years to lay down precise international human rights standards, to create ways and means of improving respect for human rights within Member States, and, where necessary, to intervene to protect victims of human rights abuses and violations. Countless groups and thousands of individuals have turned to the United Nations human rights bodies for recourse against discrimination, torture, executions, disappearances, arbitrary detention and religious intolerance. And every year, Member States receive vital technical and educational human rights assistance.
Human rights are at the very centre of the concerns of the world organization. But success does not depend on the United Nations alone. It depends on everyone of us being conscious of, and demanding respect for, our human rights and for those of others. It depends on our speaking out for the
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freedom and well-being of our fellow human beings. Above all, success depends on a renewed commitment and action in defence of human rights at the international and national levels.
The preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights rightly tells us that every individual and every institution of society must strive, through teaching and education, to promote respect for human rights and freedom and to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance. This is an obligation we all share. It is in that spirit that I invite each one of you to play an active part in promoting the global cause of freedom and in furthering the United Nations goals of a more open, tolerant and harmonious world.
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