International Human Rights Day

Message from H.E. Mrs Julia Dolly Joiner, Commissioner for Political Affairs, African Union Commission, On the Occassion of International Human Rights Day (10th December 2007):

The African Union joins the United Nations to commemorate International Human Rights Day. The day was first observed on 10^th December 1948, when a new code of conduct, was adopted by the world body, as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations of the world, in order to ensure that never again shall any member of the human family suffer the ills of oppression and poverty.

It is therefore, heartening to note that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) has achieved universal recognition. The UDHR comprises a set of norms and standards, which have inspired the development of regional and national legislation and policies in all corners of the globe, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Constitutive Act of the African Union.

In joining the United Nations to observe a yearlong commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the UDHR, African Member States cannot afford to turn a blind eye totheimpact of corruption and impunity on human dignity and on justice. Theworthofthehuman being, which is at the foundation of the UDHR, is challengedbywidespreadatrocities,rape,child abuse, indiscriminate access to HIV&AIDS treatment and by the widening social gaps between the poor and the rich.

The African Union has since its establishment, four years ago, committed itself to embracing human rights standards and principles both as tools and goals. Ittherefore needsto go beyond conference agreements to implement concrete policiesandlaws, which give effect to the enjoyment of the full range of human rights by all our peoples in the Continent and the Diaspora.

In2008,several AfricanStates will undergotheUniversalPeriodicReview (UPR)process. The UPR will be conductedonthebasisof information from the reviewed States, treaty bodies, special procedures and from other stakeholder including the African CommissiononHuman and Peoples’ Rights, the African Committee of Experts onthe Rights and Welfare of the Child, national human rights institutions andNGOs. While commending these Member States for taking the lead inpromoting African perspectives on the global acceptance of human rights, Icallon them to approachthe UPR as an opportunity to provide credible informationthat will assist the Human Rights Council in identifying human rightschallengesandremedies that will match the expectations of their citizens.

I also wish to congratulate those Member States that have undergone the African Peer Review Mechanism and to encourage the rest that have not yet done so to not only accede, but to sign up and undergo the review, in order to enhance democracy, good political, economic, corporate, and social governance and human rights on the Continent.

On this year’s International Human Rights Day, I wish to call on every nation and every individual to recommit themselves to and uphold the fundamental human rights obligations, principles and responsibilities that are enshrined in all national, regional and universal human rights instruments.

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