The U.N. declaration of human rights is in grave danger

As the world commemorates this year the 70th anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, pervasive and massive gross violations of human rights persist in so many countries, large and small, from China, Vietnam, The Philippines, and Myanmar to Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Guatemala, Syria, and several countries in the Middle East and Africa. Extreme nationalism and populism are rising in several countries in Europe and authoritarian rulers on every continent often violently suppress dissent.

However, the declaration remains a beacon of hope and justice for those oppressed. It has inspired those fighting for civil rights and those protesting against apartheid and colonialism. Eleanor Roosevelt, chairwoman of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights that drafted it, called it the “Magna Carta” for humanity. This most widely translated and celebrated document enshrines the simple yet radical and powerful idea that that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

We should never forget that it was after the death and destruction of World War II and the Holocaust, that the drafters of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco recognized human rights and world peace as inextricably intertwined, for countries that violate human rights are likely to act lawlessly and threaten international peace and security. Thus, they included promotion of human rights as an integral feature of the charter.

As the Universal Declaration is nonbinding and the Cold War delayed consensus on creating a binding treaty on human rights, two international Covenants – one on Civil and Political Rights and the other on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights – were eventually agreed in 1966, came into force ten years later, and are now widely accepted. Called the “International Bill of Human Rights,” these treaties embody a basic list of rights that belong to all of us. What followed are scores of treaties on, for example, the rights of women, children, and the disabled, prohibition of genocide and of torture and racism.

The United States has traditionally been the champion of human rights. The country has encouraged and occasionally even coerced with sanctions those violating human rights, but the tune has changed recently. To illustrate, President Donald Trump has routinely criticized China for violations of intellectual property rights and sanctioned it by ratcheting up tariffs. He has similarly demanded North Korea to denuclearize, but nary a word on human rights violations.

Trump has continued to attack the U.N. bodies that promote and protect human rights. In his recent speech at the General Assembly, asserting sovereignty and exceptionalism, he said the U.S. would “provide neither support nor recognition to the International Criminal Court.” He added, “Moving forward we are only going to give foreign aid to those who respect us, and frankly our — our friends,” and implicitly not to those who desperately need humanitarian assistance. Human Rights Watch (HRW) responded in a statement to CNN that these comments “are music to the ears of tyrants and war criminals.” Director of HRW’S International Justice Program, Richard Dicker, said Trump’s “opposition to justice for victims of mass slaughter is yet another retreat by the administration on human rights.”

In the face of grave challenges to the Universal Declaration the focus must be on protection and implementation. The need is not to despair, but to create an awareness and a culture of human rights. The means for doing so are not obscure. For example, human rights education is the key, which should be universally taught from kindergarten onward. The United Nations and human rights groups should prepare a teacher’s manual for primary and secondary school to teach human rights. Also, judges everywhere need to be reminded of international standards and jurisprudence for use in their courts and to provide appropriate remedies. We also need an International Court for Human Rights.

The rules enshrined in the Universal Declaration are as timeless and relevant today as they were 70 years ago.

Ved Nanda is Distinguished University Professor and Director of the Nanda Center for International Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. His column appears the last Sunday of the month and he welcomes comments at vnanda@law.du.edu.