FOR THE RECORD

Yelchenko speaks on Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1998. Throughout the world, as well as at the United Nations headquarters in New York, U.N. representational offices, along with national governments and non-governmental organizations have been commemorating the 50th anniversary of the declaration.

The declaration, which states at the very beginning that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights," became accepted as an international standard by which to judge the performance of governments and peoples. Throughout the many decades of their struggle, dissidents in Ukraine often turned to the basic tenets outlined in the declaration to protest the Soviet governments human rights violations.

The Ukrainian government, along with the U.N. regional representation in Ukraine, organized a conference in Yalta on September 2-4 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the declaration. The conference was attended by representatives from 27 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

On September 15 in New York, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, Volodymyr Yelchenko, addressed a United Nations Department of Public Information/non-governmental organizations conference held on the topic "The 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: From Words to Deeds." The text of Ambassador Yelchenko's remarks on the issue "The Impact of Globilization on Human Rights" follows.

I am proud to be here, and I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the organizers of this important conference convened to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As we see, the key word in this international document is "universal," which requires that we expand the right for human dignity to all members of the global family.

Exceptions to this principle undermine the dignity of all. History reminds us that human rights are integral elements in the promotion of peace and security, sustainable economic development and social equality. Without genuine respect for human rights, we cannot move forward as a global community. We should always remember that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reaffirmed without dissent that "all human rights are universal, indivisible, inter-dependent and inter-related."

Despite the progress in this field over the last 50 years, we still have a long way to go to include people everywhere in the circle of human dignity - a world in which human rights are respected on a daily basis, in all situations, and in all countries.

More than half a century has elapsed since the issue of promotion and protection of human rights has become a matter of concern to the international community, which was reflected in the respective international legal instrument. With the adoption of the United Nations Charter, human rights had assumed an international standing similar to the status given to it in national legal systems. Since then, the promotion of human rights has been an integral part of United Nations activities. In recent decades, the international community has taken a substantive step from being primarily a community of national states to the level in which international legal regulations cover a majority of issues affecting the status and rights of the individual.

Establishing the system of international legal instruments in the field of human rights is, undoubtedly, one of the major achievements of the United Nations. It represents not only a compilation of norms and procedures which can be invoked by the affected individuals, both within states and internationally, but also an important point of reference for representatives of various governmental and private sectors in their efforts to achieve political and social changes.

It is not surprising that, practically immediately after the establishment of the United Nations, the issue of defining universal standards of treatment of individuals received the priority attention of the General Assembly.

The Commission on Human Rights, set up by the Economic and Social Council in 1946, was entrusted with the task of preparing a draft bill on human rights consisting of two documents: a declaration of general principles and standards, and a convention on specific rights and their implementation. It was in the context of the debates in the preparation of this bill of rights that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was finally adopted by a resolution of the General Assembly on December 10, 1948, an act that has had a profound impact on the human history.

The essential link between the Universal Declaration and the U.N. Charter is clearly defined in the former's preamble which, after recalling the pledge of member-states to achieve, in cooperation with the organization, universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, declares, that "a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge."

Proclaiming the inherent freedom and equality of every human being on this planet, the Universal Declaration protects the basic elements of a meaningful human existence. The rights to life, food, shelter, access to medical care, freedom from torture or arbitrary imprisonment are found there along with the rights to education, freedom of religious belief, information, expression, association and peaceful assembly and the right to take part in the cultural life of the community.

The road passed over the past 50 years to broaden and strengthen the protection and promotion of the basic rights of the individual is there for all to see. The credit goes above all to the Universal Declaration itself, for its ethical, political and educational value has been of enormous importance. It has also been the source of inspiration and the foundation for the impressive standard-setting work done by the United Nations to uphold the protection of the human being and his or her rights and dignity.

It is rather symbolic that adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was preceded by the General Assembly's approval on December 9, 1948, of the Convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide. Genocide is widely conceived to be the most vicious of all crimes.

To a large extent, the issue of genocide becomes, in addition to a drastic human problem, a test of the efficacy of the international community to ensure improvement in the basic condition of human beings.

But, as we take stock of what has been accomplished, we cannot pretend that the gap has been bridged between aspirations and real achievements. We still live in a world in which massacres of national, ethnic, racial or religious groups continue, where millions are uprooted from their homes and untold numbers are being arrested arbitrarily or imprisoned without a trial. Sadly, it remains a world in which torture is still practiced, in which more than a billion people are living in poverty, where children are still exploited, the elderly neglected and women denied their fundamental equal rights. Obviously, such a world is not a place where human rights are being universally respected.

The breakdown of the old bipolar world has created new possibilities for promotion and protection of human rights. Globalization has opened borders to new ideas and information, providing us with new opportunities in building a universal culture of human rights. Democracy has taken root in the majority of states. Conditions for developing further progress in the area of human rights, unimagined by the drafters of the Universal Declaration in 1948, become more favorable.

It has always been the task of the United Nations to provide a forum for diverse cultures and, at the same time, to seek the common denominator that bespeaks a common humanity. It is in this sense that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Genocide Convention and other international instruments on human rights were elaborated by people of different cultures and for people of different cultures. The United Nations sponsored a number of human rights conferences, which fortified and broadened the international consensus on priorities in the promotion and protection of human rights as universal values. It is now our responsibility to strengthen the adherence of the international community to the principles of universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights, and translate them into reality.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to inform you that quite recently, on September 2-4 of this year, a very important international conference devoted to the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights took place in the city of Yalta in Ukraine. This international forum was organized as a joint effort by the government of Ukraine and the regional bureau of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for Europe and CIS, and it brought together delegations from 27 states of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

In the course of the conference, representatives of government and legal institutions, national commissioners for human rights, representatives of non-governmental organizations, as well as international experts and observers discussed the progress achieved by the international community in the field of human rights since the adoption of the Universal Declaration.

One of the major achievements of this conference has become the adoption of a plan of action that envisages the establishment, under the auspices of the UNDP of an international network for gathering, generalization and exchange of information on the best practices in the field of promoting human rights. This process will take place with the assistance of the UNDP and other international institutions, which will act in close cooperation with governmental and non-governmental organizations that are involved in the protection of human rights.

The importance of the Yalta conference lays in the formulated recommendations on the protection of human rights, and in particular on institutional development and exchange of experience in the field of human rights, as well as its contribution to establishing priorities for action at the national level.

In so doing, we in Ukraine are well aware that advances in human rights are an intrinsic component of the progress which we seek in the social, political and economic spheres. If we want to pass a good legacy to future generations, we should match all our actions with the established human rights standards enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other related international documents.

It must be evident to all that neglect and ignorance of human rights will prevent any community from living in harmony with itself and in peace with others.

In all our endeavors, respect for human rights and freedoms should be both our essential point of departure and our ultimate goal.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, October 11, 1998, No. 41, Vol. LXVI

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