Universal Declaration of Human Rights
How far have we come:
'A vision still far from reality'



Fifty  years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the most comprehensive   and  widely  recognised  international standard for the protection   of civil, political, social, cultural and economic rights, was  adopted   in  Paris on 10 December 1948, a number of commemorative events  were   organised  in Addis Ababa by the Economic Commission for Africa  (ECA),   United  Nations  Educational  Scientific  and Cultural Organisation  (UNESCO),  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),   World  Food  Programme (WFP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Innate and inalienable: The  programme  of  events   was  officially  launched  at  a  press conference   at ECA Headquarters.  UNDP Resident Coordinator Mr. Samuel Nyambi  noted   that  while  traditional  human  rights  was limited to political  and  civil rights, human rights included the right to life, liberty and security, and the right not to be discriminated against on the  basis  of race, colour, sex and language, among others.  'Nor are these  rights   bestowed by others,' added Mr. Nyambi. 'They are innateand inalienable'.

The  UNESCO  representative for Ethiopia, Mr. Mamadou Lamine Conde, said that UNESCO's emphasis in Addis Ababa was on children, and street children  in   particular.  A  society that was not able to protect the rights  of   children could hardly be expected to aspire to other human rights obligations, he argued.

Food assistance:  A   special   relationship  was  recognised  between  the  Universal Declaration  of  Human Rights and the mandate of WFP. An estimated 800 million   people worldwide do not have adequate access to food, and one of  the principal objectives of WFP is to save the lives of people who have  little or no ability to feed themselves. By meeting the needs of
refugees,  displaced  persons  and others in famine, natural disasters and   armed conflict, WFP protects and promotes the most fundamental of human rights: the right to life.

The 10 December observances saw murals, painted by street children, along  Addis   Ababa's  main thoroughfare, leading from Bole Airport to the  city   centre.  Students,  accompanied  by  performers from Circus Ethiopia  '  a  troupe  made  up  mainly of underprivileged children ' performed  along  Bole Road. At the Meskel Square main rallying point, dancers, acrobats and musicians performed for most of the day.

TV  discussions  under  panellists from the Organisation of African Unity   (OAU),  and  members  from  the Ethiopian Parliament, also took place. Other panel discussions focused on violence against women, with participants from the Ethiopian Women's Affairs Office and UNHCR.

Hate speech: A  conference  on Human Rights looked at Hate Speech, with specific reference  to  the  Rwanda  experience. Radio Fana, a private station, featured  a  two-week series of broadcasts in four national languages, totalling   some   150  minutes  of   material,  focused  on  the  50th anniversary.

A  press kit, packaging materials from all the collaborating agencies, as  well as from UN hubs in New York and Geneva, contained a statement by  Ms.  Mary   Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to the General Assembly, said: ' The last fifty years have generated much hope.  Yet I am afraid that in terms of practical reality of how human rights  are  lived,  we  must   admit  that the vision of the Universal Declaration is still far from reality.'