Hear the voices of the oppressed The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights has yet to be embraced - Dr. Renato Mabunga, Manila
- December 10, 2012 Since 1950, the United Nations has
commemorated the historic adoption of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights as a “common standard of achievement for all
people and all nations.” Ironically, on its 64th anniversary
today, millions of people around the world still long to realize
at least the most basic of this common standard for humanity:
the recognition of the “inherent dignity and the equal and
inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” The
continuing uprisings in the Arab world, the protests sweeping
major cities and urban centers in Europe, the Americas and
Africa, the continuing difficult situations in Asia, all
highlight deficiencies of human rights in governance and the
non-recognition of peoples’ aspirations for inclusion and a
desire for meaningful participation in public affa