Human Rights issue at crux of nations' development, prosperity

"[T]oday on Human Rights Day, the United Nations is urging everyone everywhere in the world to embrace diversity and end discrimination."

Following are excerpts from a compelling statement by a top U.N. official on the universal imperative of safeguarding the rights of the poor and underprivileged in all countries.

Bahá'u'lláh has likewise highlighted the virtue of unity in diversity -

"[R]egard ye not one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch."(1)

From UN Dispatch.

Special Guest Post for Human Rights Day: Navi Pillay

Mark Leon Goldberg - December 9, 2009

By Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Old and new forms of discrimination and intolerance continue to divide communities all over the world. Sentiments of xenophobia are on the rise. They are often manipulated for demagogic purposes or even for sinister political agendas. Day after day, their corrosive effects undermine the rights of countless victims. This is why today on Human Rights Day, the United Nations is urging everyone everywhere in the world to embrace diversity and end discrimination. ...


Persons with disabilities make up the world's largest and most disadvantaged minority. For example, 98% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school. Indigenous peoples represent 5% of the world's population, but 15% of its poorest people. Women account for two-thirds of the world's working hours and produce half of the world's food. Yet, due to discrimination and stereotypical gender roles, they earn only 10% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's property.
History has proved time and again that, when discrimination, inequality and intolerance are allowed to take root, they may shatter the very foundations of societies and damage them for generations. Left unchecked, they may spill across borders and poison relations among nations. ...
It is undeniable that progress has been remarkable, but we should not pause. Discrimination does not go away by itself. It must be challenged at every turn. We must move forward and move quickly.


We must never lose sight of the fact that the enjoyment of human rights enriches us all. Conversely, when human dignity is undercut or denied by human rights violations, then such abuses affect all of us. This is particularly true in our increasingly multi-ethnic and multicultural societies. ...
On this very day in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated unequivocally that all human beings are born equal in dignity and rights. More than sixty years later, these words resonate with unaltered poignancy. Let us make the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' principles of equality, freedom and dignity for all a reality everywhere. Universal tolerance and respect for diversity is our goal.

Source: http://www.undispatch.com/node/9243
Logo obtained here.


Notes:
(1) Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets 164