On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In a sense, it took all of human history to arrive at this moment of global consensus. Nonetheless, in 1999 Amnesty International reported human rights abuses in 142 countries and territories. A decade later, genocide still mutilates our humanity.

INJUSTICE ANYWHERE IS A THREAT TO JUSTICE EVERYWHERE. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.


Human rights encompass issues ranging from democracy versus totalitarian or authoritarian states, to political, religious, ethnic, gender or class discrimination, to the abuse of children. Human rights could be seen, depending upon the application of the words, to encompass virtually everything that matters about being a human being. Basic freedom, basic dignity, basic needs and basic protection from abuse of power and persecution are all related to human rights. Without basic human rights, there is no guarantee of life itself, much less to a quality of life that makes it worth living. All of human history has been in a sense a struggle to develop, refine and protect human rights. The more human rights are commonly understood, accepted and guaranteed throughout the world, the greater the chance for dealing with other issues which divide people, deprive people, destroy people, cause conflict and threaten life on the planet itself.