TruthBook Religious News Blog

Posted By Geoffrey P. Johnston

Later this year the United Nations will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But is that milestone worth celebrating when so many people in the world are persecuted because of their religious beliefs?

You can be sure that when the UN General Assembly meets on December 10th, many hollow speeches about human rights will be made by indecisive leaders who are too timid to confront tyranny or halt ethnic cleansing.

In a better world, one in which leaders back up their high-minded talk with action, the community of nations would stage a massive anniversary gala, replete with fireworks, to celebrate the global triumph of human rights over religious intolerance and organized barbarity.

Sadly, having failed to live up to the promise of the Universal Declaration, humanity has not earned such a celebration.

To be sure, Canadians and Americans have reasons to rejoice –we live in the freest societies in the world and enjoy unrivalled religious liberties–but we should temper our celebrations with the knowledge that religious bigotry runs rampant elsewhere.

Indeed, for indigenous Christians and other persecuted religious minorities struggling to survive the harsh reality of today’s Muslim world, there is little reason to celebrate. Nevertheless, there is still hope for the future.

Although the international community is notoriously slow in responding to crimes against humanity, history tells us that widespread human rights abuses can spur advancements in international justice.

When the Second World War ended, for example, and the scope of Nazis Germany’s systematic slaughter of at least six million Jews was revealed, the civilized world recoiled in horror. And the newborn human rights movement cried out, "Never Again!"

The impact of the Holocaust on international law has been profound, according to former Ivy League scholar and current federal Liberal politician Michael Ignatieff. During his tenure at Harvard University, he wrote that the establishment of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 "was in large measure a response to the torment of the Jewish people."

When the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration, it affirmed the inalienable human rights of people around the globe and placed limits on the sovereignty of the nation-state. Unfortunately, that has not stopped certain nations from flouting the international human rights regime.

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Labels: Geoffrey P. Johnston, religious freedom, United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights