» Press Releases
Dissidents Urge UN to Expel China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia from Human Rights Council & Women's Rights Commission Draft UNGA resolutions sent to SG Ban Ki-moon and rights chief Navi Pillay on human rights situations in China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Venezuela, Zimbabwe Original at UN Watch http://www.unwatch.org/cms.asp?id=2633771&campaign_id=65378 NEW YORK, Sept. 28 - Led by UN Watch, some of the world's most famous dissidents and former political prisoners urged the UN today to suspend China, Cuba, Russia and Saudi Arabia from the UN Human Rights Council, which is now in session, and to expel Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. See full text below. In a letter sent today to UN chief Ban Ki-moon and rights commissioner Navi Pillay, the international group of activists submitted draft resolutions on the human rights situations in China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, for adoption by the UN's General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. Canadian MP Irwin Cotler announced the dissidents' declaration yesterday in the Canadian parliament. _____________ Declaration of Dissidents for Universal Human Rights United Nations, New York, September 22, 2011 We, former prisoners of conscience, dissidents, victims of torture, persecution, and repression, fighters for freedom, democracy and the dignity of all human beings, gathered here at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, on 22 September 2011, do hereby declare: Seventy years ago this week, in the face of Nazi tyranny, nations gathered in London to proclaim the Four Freedoms of the Atlantic Charter that are the birthright of all human beings and the hallmarks of democratic society: Freedom of speech and of belief, freedom from fear and from want. These four freedoms form the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Two decades ago, the Soviet Union, the other great tyranny of the twentieth century, collapsed amidst the cry for freedom that first resonated through its satellite states. Today, across the Middle East, we are witnessing that same cry echoing from Cairo to Tripoli toDamascus, as old regimes are swept aside or cling to power through ever more brutal means. Inspired by the courage and idealism shown by ordinary women and men fighting for basic freedoms across the world; enraged by the continuing evils perpetrated by authoritarian states, including genocide, torture, state-sanctioned violence, rape and starvation as an instrument of political repression, the imprisonment of thousands of men and women of conscience, the silencing of dissenting voices, the xenophobic persecution of minorities, the denial of freedom of thought, belief and worship; we, survivors of repression in our own countries of origin, recognize that human beings can be trampled, but their spirit can never be crushed. At this decisive moment in the struggle for universal human rights, we celebrate the defeat of Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi and of other brutal regimes in the surrounding region. To the remaining tyrants and dictators around the globe, who have systematically violated the rights of their peoples, we give notice: Your time has passed. No more will the world suffer your specious arguments to justify policies and practices of abuse and repression in the name of claimed exceptions to the universality of basic human rights. Belonging to diverse faiths and cultures, and originating from all regions of the world, we, the authors of this Declaration, unequivocally reject such dishonest apologetics, which suit the interests of the despots, and not the interests, or ideas, of their peoples. We assert that the writ of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on 10 December 1948 by the General Assembly, continues to run through all societies, and for all times. The talk of tyrants is refuted by the cries of prisoners—who, from the dungeons of Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Tibet, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and elsewhere—demand justice and freedom on the basis of these universal laws and eternal truths. Therefore, in renewing the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we call on the United Nations to make the dream of the four freedoms a reality. We urge the United Nations General Assembly to pursue a new agenda for human rights, and call for the Member States to:
Annexed Signed on this 22nd day of September, 2011, at the opening of the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly, for the We Have A Dream: Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution.
(For list of all 22 human rights NGOs sponsoring the summit, click here. For videos of the testimonies, click here.)
» Versión en Español
» Latest News
Directorio Democrático Cubano
© Copyright 2006 Directorio Democrático Cubano. All rights reserved.
|