70 years ago today, on December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the UN Charter of Human Rights, which was created in the wake of the terrible events of two world wars, the global diversity of traditions and cultures agreed for the first time on a common concept of humanity.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an emancipatory act of humanity, says Florian Zimmermann, President of the Humanist Association of Germany. “We have given all people – without exception – rights that we are entitled to simply because we are human.”
But universal human rights are still a vision. The most serious human rights violations are still being committed, minorities exploited and their rights curtailed. And even where certain standards have already been achieved, democracy and human rights are once again being called into question. “There are attempts worldwide to restrict or undermine human rights, sometimes under the guise of freedom of expression or security policy,” warns Zimmermann.
Article 30 of the UN Charter of Human Rights must be respected here, which states: ” Nothing in this Declaration shall be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform any act aimed at the elimination of any of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration.
“We must defend human rights here and now,” Zimmermann appeals. “We must not take this achievement for granted, we must not tire of standing up for it. Disregarding human rights means rejecting the most fundamental social consensus – we should not confuse this with an opinion or political position.”
