[asia-apec 1835] Dates to Remember: Human Rights Now More than Ever

[Anuradha Mittal]

Dates to Remember:
Human Rights Now More than Ever
 
By Sosamma Samuel-Burnett
Coordinator, Economic and Social Human Rights Program
Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy


The events of September 11 seared that date and its significance into
our national consciousness.  In the wake of these tragedies, another 
date takes a renewed significance - December 10. This second date is 
Human Rights Day, which this year signifies the 53rd anniversary of 
the most widely recognized and accepted international human rights 
document -- the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Now more than 
ever, our nation needs to know and understand what human rights means 
for people in our country and across the globe.  

By definition terrorist attacks violates fundamental human rights - 
most importantly the right to life. The fact that the September 11 
events extinguished the right to life of a reported 3,900 people is 
the reason for our national mourning and outrage. The terrorists 
disregard for human rights should be our country's incentive to 
strengthen our awareness and support for fundamental human rights. 

 
In this context, we should also share outrage that the fundamental 
human rights of 36 million poverty-stricken Americans are violated 
and neglected. For these people the right to life, right to food, 
right to housing, right to healthcare, and related rights have been 
systematically denied by an economic and social system that has 
politicized the needs of the disadvantaged.   As a country, we can 
do more than mourn them. 

While the United States responds to the September 11 terrorist 
attacks, we must not overlook those people in our country who bear 
the ripple effects of those terrible events.   Although the 
airlines and other industries took government bailouts, thousands 
of displaced workers have no means to get a job or earn a viable
income. While the priorities of our government shift to national 
security, food insecurity and economic vulnerability grows for 
millions of Americans who already lack adequate food, shelter, or 
healthcare to maintain the bare minimum for survival or good health. 
 
Particularly during difficult times, the concerns of the poor are 
indeed the concerns of our nation.   To meet the fundamental human 
rights of all Americans, our government together with the private 
sector must directly and effectively address joblessness and 
homelessness, provide a living wage and affordable healthcare, and 
maintain safety nets that reach those that need them. 

In doing so, we need to understand and respond to the underlying 
structural and societal situation facing our nation's poor. Ensuring 
the health and survival of our people is not a handout but a 
necessity for the well being of the whole country. While our public 
and media become increasingly aware of the Talibans brutal disregard 
of human rights against the Afghan people, we must also realize the 
United States' troubling record on economic and social human rights 
for American people. 

Yet it is important to note that the United States historically has 
been a leader in the international human rights movement, and even 
spurred the drafting of important international human rights 
documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and 
human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic
and Social Human Rights. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt enunciated the 
"Four Freedoms," the United States has been at the forefront in 
promoting the concepts of human rights. But despite our leadership 
in engaging other countries to recognize and fulfill their human 
rights obligations, we have ignored ours. We not only have refused 
to ratify numerous human rights treaties, but also have refused our 
people the realization of their fundamental human rights. The 
aftermath of September 11 is precisely the time for the United 
States to demonstrate a real commitment to human rights. Only then 
can we truly distinguish ourselves from the terrorists that we call
our enemy. 

                                ###

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