World Human Rights Day

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 60 today

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In China today, 24 protesters gathered behind a police barricade outside the Foreign Ministry in downtown Beijing. The Chinese citizens held up letters of complaint and carried copies of the Chinese constitution.

They were there because they wanted the central government to hear their complaints. Land is being taken away. Homes are being destroyed. There isn't enough food. People are being thrown in jail for speaking out.

In other words, the protesters say that the Chinese government is violating their human rights.

The Chinese protest was planned to mark Human Rights Day 2008, which is also an important anniversary in the history of human rights.

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations (UN) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Former First Lady and UN delegate Eleanor Roosevelt was the chief architect of the document.

The need for an official protection of human rights came out of the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust.

"What they did was say basically, 'What are the things that every human being needs to have to live a fully human life?'" Larry Cox told Voice of America News. Cox is the director of the human rights group Amnesty International USA. "And that led them to recognize not only freedom from fear—that is civil and political rights—but things like freedom of speech, the right not to be tortured, the right to have a fair trial, but also economic and social rights—the basic needs that need to be met in order to live a life of dignity and freedom."

Global citizens have become more protective of human rights since the UDHR was adopted 60 years ago. There are now 90 countries that have signed the declaration. And according to the Guinness Book of World Records, it's the most widely translated document in history.

But there are still countries that have yet to embrace the importance of human rights.

"It is essential that we keep up the momentum, thereby enabling more and more people to stand up and claim their rights," said Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The UN is trying to keep the momentum going by expanding the UDHR to meet the problems of the 21st century. One of the biggest challenges is protecting water rights.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has found that 80 percent of the world's illnesses can be traced to dirty water. Brutal conflicts, like the one in Darfur, erupt due to water scarcity.

"It is the most powerful and important face of inequity in the world," said Maude Barlow, the Senior Adviser to the President of the General Assembly on water issues. "We've got to protect water as a human right."

She thinks the time is ripe to honor the original creators of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And the addition of water protection is the natural next step in the evolution of the document.

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