Statement of
the President of India
I am indeed delighted to participate
in this function to mark the Human Rights Day. I have been visiting
various states and meeting children and people of all walks of life
including those who have been affected by communal clashes, poverty
and un-employment. Is the perception of human being different when
looked from an individual, national or global angle? The future wars
are rarely going to be between nations. But it will be between nations
and smaller groups. There will only be Proxy wars. Today, human rights
are being attacked in such proxy wars beyond humanitarian levels.
Every citizen in the country has a
right to live with dignity; every citizen has a right to aspire for
distinction. Availability of a large number of opportunities to resort
to just and fair means in order to attain that dignity and
distinction, is what democracy is all about. That is what our
Constitution is all about. And that is what makes life wholesome and
worth living in a true and vibrant democracy. At this point, I would
like to remind all of us that at social levels it is necessary to work
for Unity of Minds. The increasing intolerance for views of others and
increasing contempt about ways of lives of others or their religions
or the expressions of these differences through lawless violence
against people cannot be justified in any context. All of us have to
work hard and do everything to make our behaviours civilised to
protect the rights of every individual. That is the very foundation of
the democratic values, which I believe is our civilisational heritage
and is the very soul of our nation. Judiciary and safeguarding human
rights are the guardians of civilised life. Wherever life exists in
our planet, no life can be allowed to be devalued by anybody. The
system cannot be a mute witness to this inhuman act.
Excerpts from the Speech Delivered by H.E. The President of India,
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the Human Rights Day Function held at Vigyan
Bhavan, NEW DELHI.
Statement of Hon'ble Mr.
George W Bush I
am honored and humbled to stand here, where so many of America's
leaders have come before me, and so many will follow.
Where there is suffering, there is
duty. Americans in need are not strangers, they are citizens, not
problems, but priorities. And all of us are diminished when any are
hopeless.
Government has great
responsibilities for public safety and public health, for civil rights
and common schools. Yet compassion is the work of a nation, not just a
government.
And some needs and hurts are so deep
they will only respond to a mentor's touch or a pastor's prayer.
Church and charity, synagogue and mosque lend our communities their
humanity, and they will have an honored place in our plans and in our
laws.
Our public interest depends on
private character, on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness,
on uncounted, unhonored acts of decency which give direction to our
freedom.
Strong civil rights enforcement will
be a cornerstone of my administration. I will confront another form of
bias - the soft bigotry of low expectations in education. Raise the
bar of standards. Give schools the flexibility to meet them. Insist on
results. Blow the whistle on failure. Provide parents with options to
increase their influence. A central part of my agenda is changing
Title One to close the achievement gap. I have proposed a New
Prosperity Initiative. We must provide a Family Health Credit that
covers 90 percent of the cost of a basic health policy for low-income
families. We’ll allow low-income families to use up to a year’s
worth of Section 8 rental payments to make a down payment on their own
home - then use five years of those payments to help with the
mortgage. I will lift the regulations that hamper private and
faith-based programs.
Excerpts from the Inaugural Address of the US
President, Hon'ble Mr. George W Bush on becoming the 43rd President of
United States of America.
gotop
Message of Mr. Kofi A. Annan
Foreword of
Mr. Ruud Lubbers Violations of
human rights, violence, racism and xenophobia were to blame for the
world’s growing number of uprooted people.
The link between human rights and refugees
is - from one optic - a relationship of cause and effect. Governments
as well as international and national institutions should do more to
prevent situations in which people are forced from their homes.
Actually preventing the descent toward
persecution, massive human rights violations and open conflict is, of
course, very difficult in the real world. But the possibility of
averting such suffering - not to mention the enormous social and
economic costs that typically follow - should justify and inspire our
efforts.
Mass movements of people in search of
better economic prospects have led to states creating a daunting array
of obstacles aimed at preventing migrants from reaching their territory.
As a result many genuine refugees have no choice but to resort to
trafficking and smuggling networks.
Today, refugees and economic migrants
- along with this criminal element - have become seriously confused -
even assimilated - in the public mind. Extremist politicians have been
quick to exploit public fears - stereotyping refugees as economically
motivated, a burden a danger to public health and a social threat.
UNHCR’s backing for the 1951 Refugee
Convention, which marks its 50th anniversary later this year, and its
validity today.
UNHCR was involved in a series of
global consultations with governments and rights groups to look at ways
of strengthening the commitment to the Convention, while at the same
time addressing issues that are not covered by it.
Excerpts from the address of Mr.
Ruud Lubbers,
United Nations High
Commission for Refugees made at the U N Human Rights Commission on
21-3-2003 in Geneva.
.
gotop
Message
of Ms. Louise Arbor, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
International Human Rights Day is always a
bittersweet occasion. It is an opportunity to review the impressive progress
made in the last 60 years in putting the protection of the individual at the
heart of affairs of States. But it is also a reminder that there are many people
all over the world who continue to be denied their human rights. Ultimately, it
is a call to action in the face of the enormous effort needed to make human
rights a reality for everyone.
One strategy to achieve that reality is human
rights education. For a society to develop and nurture a human rights culture,
human rights education is fundamental. It is a tool for promoting equality and
enhancing people’s participation in decision-making processes within
democratic systems. It is an investment in the prevention of human rights abuses
and violent conflicts.
Today, the General Assembly will devote a
plenary session to mark the end of the United Nations Decade for Human Rights
Education (1995-2004). Possible future initiatives for the enhancement of human
rights education worldwide will be discussed and elaborated. The Assembly will
have before it the recommendations of the Commission on Human Rights and of the
Economic and Social Council to proclaim a World Programme for Human Rights
Education, starting on 1 January 2005. The World Programme will continue to
provide the international community with a common global framework for human
rights education. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in close
consultation with UNESCO and governmental and non-governmental experts and
practitioners, has prepared a draft plan of action for the first phase of this
Programme, drawing on the principles and frameworks set by several international
human rights instruments. This and other initiatives will have real value,
however, only if local and national players use them to mobilize and lobby for
human rights education in their communities.
On this Human Rights Day, I would like to
pay tribute to the many human rights educators-indeed, human rights
defenders-who, in formal and informal settings, in large and small
communities, often facing difficult and hazardous situations, contribute
to building a universal culture of human rights. Human rights are our
common heritage and their realization depends on the contributions that
each and every one of us is willing to make, individually and
collectively, now and in the future.
