Preamble section 8:
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.

Discussion

  1. Human Rights Education
  2. Universities and Human Rights
  3. Non-Governmental Organizations
  4. Human Rights Education and the Internet

Human Rights Education and the Internet

There is no doubt that the educational purpose of the Universal Declaration, as stated in the Proclamation, has been pursued with remarkable success. Having been translated into 321 different languages and dialects, the Universal Declaration is now the most translated document ever according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Professor J. Paul Martin
Where do you think that new technologies such as the Internet have shown impact on human rights issues, and where do you think developments in this area are heading?
The Internet has of course proved a helpful instrument in promoting awareness of human rights in the 21st century. In the words of one prominent human rights group, Amnesty International:

"The use of the Internet has enabled Amnesty International to spread its message around the world to places and people it might never have reached using traditional media, including those who might otherwise not have taken an interest in human rights. People in countries where government censorship makes it difficult to disseminate human rights information can also access our documents via the World Wide Web. The Web allows us to distribute all our reports and news releases to millions of people around the world very quickly and free of charge. For a very small input in terms of resources, we are able to send thousands of documents to people worldwide. E-mail has enabled us to network much more quickly and cheaply on an international level than was ever possible before. News releases go out each day by e-mail to thousands of subscribers and e-mail has been indispensable in our many urgent action networks to create a fast response to serious human rights threats."1

Some of the most well-known human rights NGOs are as follows:

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

Lawyers Committee for Human Rights

International Crisis Group

Coalition for an International Criminal Court

International Committee of the Red Cross

References:

For more on NGOs and human rights, see Kenneth Roth, "Human Rights Organizations: A New Force for Social Change" in Human Rights eds. Louis Henkin et al at 738-9.

See also William Korey, NGOs and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Curious Grapevine (1998).

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Peter Danchin, Columbia University