wfn.org | LWF on 50th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

DOCUMENTATION:

Statement by Dr. Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary, on the occasion of
the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

10 December 1998

On 10 December this year, we will mark the 50th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted by
resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948.
This document is the founding instrument of modern international human
rights law, and yet its message and language is accessible and relevant to
all people. It declares that "All human beings are born free and equal in
dignity and rights," and as churches we recognize and confess the
fundamental truth of this statement. The UDHR also defines human rights in
a broad and comprehensive way, encompassing economic, social and cultural
rights such as the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to
education, and the right to participate in the cultural life of the
community, as well as civil and political rights such as the right to life,
freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, and freedom of opinion and
expression. By this broad conception of human rights and fundamental
freedoms, the UDHR established a human rights framework which addresses the
needs of the whole person. As such, the principles contained in the UDHR
cannot and should not be seen as political, but rather as ethical and moral.

In the year before the adoption of the UDHR, the first Assembly of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in( Lund, Sweden, called for "international
acceptance of a Declaration of Human Rights and of such conventions as are
necessary to carry out its intent." I think that it is very significant
that this call was one of the first concerns to be raised by the newly
formed LWF. The founders of the LWF, together with many other churches and
church-related organizations around the world, recognized the need for
legal instruments and mechanisms which could be used to protect and promote
the God-given dignity of each and every person, and their call was based
upon this recognition. Today, the call from the churches for legal tools
for the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms
has been answered handsomely. After the adoption of the UDHR, the
principles which it sets out were given binding legal effect in a number of
international conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child
and others. The UDHR has also inspired regional human rights conventions,
and many national constitutions and Bills of Rights.

Of course, many States are still not party to these conventions, and no
State can be said to have implemented its obligations under these
conventions fully. Nevertheless, there is now an extensive and
comprehensive body of international human rights law which can be used to
hold governments to account for their actions. However, like any tools,
they have no effect unless they are picked up and used. This is a challenge
to the churches, to grasp these tools and to use them in a practical human
rights ministry.

LWF activities are aimed at promoting the enjoyment of human rights

The LWF has spoken repeatedly on the issue of human rights at its
Assemblies and at its annual Council meetings, and it has reflected the
priority it places on human rights by the creation of a specialized Office
for International Affairs and Human Rights within the general secretariat.
The LWF also understands all of its service activities, whether they be in
peace promotion, humanitarian relief, food security, development,
education or otherwise, to be activities aimed at promoting human dignity
and the enjoyment of human rights. The LWF's commitment to human rights is
reflected in the human rights ministries which many member churches have
taken up themselves in their respective nations and contexts.

LWF member churches have approached human rights in different ways. Some
have spoken out loudly against the violations of human rights. Others have
worked quietly in caring for the victims. Others have, it must be said,
found it difficult to address human rights in their ministries. However, a
human rights ministry is an act of responsibility and duty, founded upon
the recognition of the God-given dignity of each person, and the example
of Christ. The spirit of compassion, reflecting the compassion of Christ
for all humanity, does not allow us to turn our faces away from suffering
and injustice, and pretend we did not see. However, this is not a ministry
for church leadership alone. Churches are challenged to consider each
congregation as, in part, a human rights committee, addressing the
suffering and injustice which they see and experience in their local
contexts. Wherever people are suffering, being detained, enduring torture,
being denied good health, or experiencing discrimination, the church is
suffering, being detained, enduring torture, being denied good health, or
experiencing discrimination. In such a fundamental and critical ministry
as human rights, the churches have a unique capacity to translate local
grassroots experiences into advocacy or other appropriate action at the
national or international levels.

During this 50th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, two events in particular have given hope of recognition and
justice to those who have been the victims of gross violations of human
rights: the successful conclusion of the international conference on the
establishment of an international criminal court, and the ruling by the
House of Lords in the United Kingdom last month that former heads of state
do not automatically enjoy immunity from prosecution for human rights
violations. These two events indicate a welcome evolution of international
law which may help to reduce the phenomenon of impunity and to promote
justice for the victims of human rights violations. It is fitting that
they should have occurred in this year, which marks the end of a
productive 50-year period of standard-setting, and the beginning of a
period in which the emphasis must be on implementation and enforcement.

The values contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not
only the values of the industrialized West. They represent aspirations and
hopes which are as near as can be imagined to universal. When taken
together, they are broadly descriptive of the human dignity which resides
in every human person - a God-given dignity - which we, as churches, are
called to protect and promote.

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
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