![]() Human rights are at the core of the United Nations. Its enduring impact, however, depends on its remaining what he called the UN’s “basic value,” inspiring and challenging the consciences of UN Members and the people of the world. The Universal Declaration was a huge step forward in this process of human moral development, becoming “one of the highest expressions of the human conscience of our time,” as John Paul II said in his second visit to the UN in 1995. The atrocities of two world wars and especially the Holocaust had revealed that there are some actions so wicked that no one can or will justify them and certain fundamental values that no one will dispute.Īfter the horrors of the first half of last century, it was obvious that human progress could not be measured only by scientific and technological advances, since even those could become weapons against the innocent rather human progress had to be the integral development of persons and peoples, especially their ethical development. It was a great triumph achieved at a tremendous cost, he said, “paid for by millions of our brothers and sisters” who had suffered, sacrificed, been brutalized and even subjected to genocide. When Pope John Paul II spoke to the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1979, he called it the “fundamental document,” the “basic inspiration and cornerstone of the United Nations Organization,” and a “milestone on the long and difficult path of the moral progress.” The occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an opportunity not only to celebrate it as one of the great achievements in the history of the United Nations but also to reaffirm its importance and recommit to promoting and defending the rights, fundamental freedoms and responsibilities it articulates.Īt its adoption, 70 years ago this coming Monday, one of its principal catalysts, Eleanor Roosevelt, hoped that it would become the “international Magna Carta of all men everywhere.” I am very happy to welcome you to this afternoon’s event in anticipation of next Monday’s 70th Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the Holy See is honored to sponsor together with ADF International. United Nations Headquarters, New York, 4 December 2018 “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70:įoundations, Achievements and Violations” ![]() Archbishop Bernardito AuzaĪpostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See
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