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Unfulfilled promises

The 60th anniversary of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an occasion for sober introspection as the lofty principles enunciated in the historic charter largely remain in the realm of unfulfilled promises. The Declaration, endorsed unanimously by the nascent United Nations of 58 member states, was the first-ever international proclamation on the most basic rights and fundamental freedoms for mankind. The text was a legally non-binding statement of objective s. Nevertheless, the broad consensus was a stupendous achievement, given the conflicting political ideologies, religious persuasions, and ethnic and cultural particularities that threatened further fragmentation in a world recovering from the horrors of the two wars. Two decades elapsed before the member states took another leap and accorded legal protection to civil, social, and cultural rights through two covenants in 1966. These advances were followed by the adoption of the core human rights conventions that outlaw violence against women, torture and racism and the codification of the rights of children.

The recent constitution of Human Rights Council as a direct subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, was backed by 170 countries; a notable exception was the United States. But the new body has been bogged down in debates on implementation. Countries from the third world, having a sizable representation, should leverage their combined strength to garner support for livelihood concerns affecting millions, such as debt-relief and reform of subsidies on farm product exports to the developing and least developed countries. They must at the same time reckon that any realistic prospect of their achieving the 2015 millennium development goals depends on making progress in the area of human rights.

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