Statement from the Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait on Human Rights Day Yasmine Cherif
NEW YORK, December 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Today we mark an important milestone in history: the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As people around the world commemorate Human Rights Day, we must also think deeply about the significance of this historic document and what it takes to achieve world peace.
The inspiring preamble to the Universal Declaration is not the work of an indifferent or greedy mindset. It was designed by those who were able to tap into their hearts and souls to authentically express the imperatives for peaceful coexistence in the world.
Inspired by the East and the West, the North and the South, Eleanor Rooseveltalongside the French lawyer, Renee Cassin, were the driving force behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. Along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and successive legal conventions relating to human rights man, we can say with certainty that these rights were not proclaimed to find consensus around the lowest common denominator. Rather, the Declaration was created to inspire and shape consensus around the highest of human values: the goal was to achieve peace.
The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says: “Considering that recognition of the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family constitutes the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. However, almost a century later, these universal rights are largely neither respected nor applied in the same way. As the essence of these values and laws is eroded and ignored, is it any wonder that there are more wars, conflicts and widespread injustices, leading to more refugees, internal displacement and immense human suffering?
This indescribable, but avoidable, human suffering occurs because we have strayed from our highest human values through many small and large decisions. These are decisions that lead to actions that seriously undermine the foundations of peaceful coexistence in the world. Have not liberty, equality and justice for all members of the human family been sufficiently compromised or neglected?
The path to peace is not complicated. The answer lies in the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all the rights enshrined in the Declaration.
The right to inclusive and sustainable quality education is a fundamental right. Quality continuing education allows every child and adolescent to claim all other rights. The chances of success are even greater provided that these children and adolescents live in an environment conducive to all other human rights – also for their families, their communities and their countries.
It’s not complicated. It only requires that we make courageous decisions in every role we assume – and take meaningful action – to begin to realize the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for all members of the human family.
This would be a very useful way forward. This would be a profound legacy to leave to the younger generation and generations to come. All we need to do is act according to our conscience. Or, as co-author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Eleanor Rooseveltasked rhetorically: “When will our conscience become so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than to avenge it.”
SOURCE Education Can’t Wait
