Sunday, 5 February 2012

Swansea Occupation reads Rights

Here are some often-forgotten human rights, as itemised in the UN General Assembly's Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10th,1948.
A shortened version of the Universal Declaration was read by the General Assembly of Occupy Swansea outside the Swansea Guildhall on December 10th, 2011:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948

Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Articles 23-7
Everyone has the right to work, to rest and leisure, to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, to education, cultural life and share in scientific advancements
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

(Signed by 48 countries, with 0 against and 8 abstentions including Soviet bloc countries, Saudi Arabia and white-ruled South Africa)

We also noted some outdated references to 'brotherhood', 'mankind' etc, and an emphasis on individual as distinct from communal rights to property etc. These failings are far outweighed by a determination to make basic rights a reality for all, and by the remarkable prescience of clause 28.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-CuHO-sKE0

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