Am I Not Human? (Dec 2008)

We truly appreciate all bloggers and blog readers who support our monthly 'Am I Not Human?' campaign on the 27th of each month. Here is a list of blogs (human rights abuser in parenthesis) supporting the blogging campaign this month:

1. Electronic Village (United Nations)
2. From My Brown Eyed View (United Nations)
3. Lisa C Writes (Somalia)
4. Living Life Abundantly (Africa)
5. Sojourner's Place (United States)
6. Stop Genocide (Zimbabwe)
7. The Jose Vilson (United States)
8. thinkbridge (India)
9. Ultraviolet Underground (Chad)
10. Why Am I Not Surprised (US)
    

Please let us know if we've missed any blog posts from this month's campaign!

The Universal Declaration for Human Rights

Eleanor Roosevelt considered the signing of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights to be her greatest triumph. It was signed by the United Nations on December 10, 1948.

Roosevelt once said, "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."

Universal Declaration for Human Rights
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, therefore, The General Assembly proclaims
This Universal Declaration of Human Rights

as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

I encourage you to review the 30 articles that make up the complete UDHR.

Once we realize that the nations of the world accepted human rights as being inalienable it becomes more difficult for us to sit by idly when we learn about human rights abuses. Our hope is that you will take action!

• Protect Children's Rights
• Fight Discrimination
• Stop Torture and Political Killing
• Advance the Human Rights of Women
• Reinforce Workers' Rights
• Spread the Word on Free Expression
• Halt Religious Persecution
• Advocate for Fair Trials and Due Process
• Secure "Freedom from Want"
• Defend Human Rights Defenders

Please make a note on your calendar to join our blogging campaign, 'Am I Not Human?' on the 27th of each month. We want all concerned bloggers and blog readers to support this effort. It is one way that we can lift up the powerful example set 60 years ago by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the United Nations.

Am I Not Human? (Nov 2008)

We truly appreciate all bloggers and blog readers who support our monthly 'Am I Not Human?' campaign on the 27th of each month. Here is a list of blogs (human rights abuser in parenthesis) supporting the blogging campaign this month:

1. A Slant Truth (United States)
2. Eddie G. Griffin, BASG (United States)
3. Electronic Village (Multiple Countries)
4. From My Brown Eyed View (Multiple Countries)
5. Hagar's Daughter (Multiple Countries)
6. Living Life Abundantly (Haiti)
7. On The Black Hand Side (United States)
8. Sojourner's Place (Multiple Countries)
9. The Jose Vilson (United States)
10. Thinkbridge (Multiple Countries)
11. Ultraviolet Underground (Congo)
12. Why Am I Not Surprised? (United States)

Please let us know if we've missed any blog posts from this month's campaign!

Am I Not Human? Child Soldiers

The following is cross-posted from the Electronic Village.

I encourage all villagers to find a way to support this blogging campaign held on the 27th of each month. We use this monthly blogging campaign to shine a light on human rights abuses taking place all over the world.

My submission this month was inspired by a television show. I watched the season premiere of "24" a few days ago. I was struck by the use of children as soldiers for the rebels in this show. In fact, the rebels were actually kidnapping children from homes, soccer fields and schools.
The fantasy of television is born from the reality of our world.

It turns out that child soldiers are fighting in at least 17 countries including Angola, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Lebanon, Liberia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.

Boys and girls alike are forced into combat, exploited for their labor, and subjected to unspeakable violence. A UN treaty prohibits the participation of children under the age of 18 in hostilities. But too often, it is not enforced.

Physically vulnerable and easily intimidated, children typically make obedient soldiers. Many are abducted or recruited by force, and often compelled to follow orders under threat of death. Others join armed groups out of desperation. As society breaks down during conflict, leaving children no access to school, driving them from their homes, or separating them from family members, many children perceive armed groups as their best chance for survival. Others seek escape from poverty or join military forces to avenge family members who have been killed.

I rarely compliment President Bush ... but, I'm proud to know that he signed a new law last month that calls for the arrest and prosecution of leaders of military forces and armed groups who have recruited child soldiers.

I encourage all villagers to visit the Red Hand Day website. The folks on that website want us to urge the United Nations to take stronger action to end the use of child soldiers.

The aim of the Red Hand Day campaign is to gather one million “red hands” — the symbol of the global campaign against the use of child soldiers — and present them to UN officials in New York on February 12, 2009, the anniversary of the day the treaty banning the use of child soldiers took effect.

Participating in the campaign is easy:

1. Use red paint to make a handprint on a sheet of paper, and add a personal message about your desire to end the use of child soldiers; organize others at your school or in your community to do the same;


2. Upload photos or videos of your event to www.redhandday.org;


3. Send your red hands by February 2009 to Human Rights Watch, 350 5th Ave, 34th Floor, New York, NY 10118

Will you join this effort? What are your thoughts about using children as soldiers?

President Bush: Please LEAD on Darfur

We now have less than two months until the Beijing Olympic Games begin on August 8.

I urge all villagers to write a letter to President Bush asking him to lead on Darfur. The UN Security Council has just returned from its trip to Africa, where it visited the Darfur region.

During June, as President of the Security Council, the United States is in a unique position to exert its influence to ensure that the peacekeepers and civilian police authorized almost a year ago by the UN are deployed immediately.

Write to President Bush now and tell him how crucial his leadership is in urging China and other Security Council members to deploy the peacekeeping force to Darfur.

Darfur: National Day of Action, 6/20/2008

I encourage all villagers to join the Nationwide Day of Action on June 20. Please join Dream for Darfur and Save Darfur Coalition for a nationwide protest against the silence of Olympic corporate sponsors on the Darfur crisis.

To mark United Nations World Refugee Day on June 20, students, activists, and community leaders in cities across the country are gathering at the stores and headquarters of sponsors that have failed to address the Darfur genocide - despite their responsibility as stakeholders of the Olympics. Click here to attend an event in your community.