wfn.org | Church Leader Responds to Human Rights Survey

["Christian B. Schäffler" <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

January 5, 2000
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
http://www.stanet.ch/APD
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Church Leader Responds to Human Rights Survey 

Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.    The director of the 
Seventh-day Adventist Church's Public Affairs and Religious 
Liberty Department, Dr. John Graz, responded this week to a 
major international survey that included attitudes to human 
rights.

The survey, recently carried out by Gallup International 
(London/U.K.), asked respondents in 60 countries whether 
they believed human rights were fully respected and whether 
discrimination occurred where they lived. They also asked 
about compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights.

"The responses are interesting because they reveal that, in 
the words of the survey, 'Strict observance of human rights 
seems to be causing substantial difficulties,'" said Graz. 
"Even in those parts of the world that are usually considered 
the most supportive of human rights, citizens who live there 
are not convinced that all such rights are being observed. 
For example, in Western Europe, less than one in three
believes that human rights are being fully observed."

The survey results reveal Latin America to be the worst area 
of the world, with only eight percent of citizens believing that 
human rights are fully observed in their countries, and one 
third say human rights are not being observed, either partially 
or at all. Interestingly, however, countries of the Middle East, 
where some of the worst human rights violations occur, were 
not surveyed.

In regards to perceptions on the observance of specific human 
rights, generally North America and Western Europe were 
viewed as "best." Worst for freedom of religion was South 
East Asia, for freedom of opinion and expression West Africa, 
and for torture Latin America.

"The survey shows that we still have a long way to go before 
we have a general and widespread observance of even the 
most basic of human rights," commented Graz. "We remain 
committed to working for support of and adherence to the 
United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and as 
a Church particularly for that fundamental human right,
the freedom to believe and practice and promote one's 
religious convictions." (13/2000)