Social Work Club celebrates Human Rights Day
By Karen Lainas ’13
The Social Work Club is celebrating and recognizing the 64th anniversary of Human Rights Day on Monday, Dec. 10. The club is asking members of the Salve Regina community to join in recognizing this day by wearing an orange ribbon and will be distributing ribbons in the O’Hare Academic Center lobby on Monday.
The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after the vast devastation of World War II on Dec. 10, 1948. The document contains 30 articles, defining the rights of all people, as Article 28 states, “everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.”
Today, with the increase in violence occurring throughout the world, and particularly in the Middle East, it is important to recognize and implement this document in order to protect and promote the rights and fundamental freedoms for all individuals and groups. However, despite its timeless relevance, a survey found that 92 percent of those polled had never heard of it, specifically in the United States.
As Eleanor Roosevelt, a principle architect of the declaration, states, “unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerned citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.” Therefore, it is vital to know and bring awareness to the declaration and insist that your rights and the rights of others be upheld throughout the world.
