{"id":5384,"date":"2020-12-08T14:42:43","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T14:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrionline.org\/?p=11301"},"modified":"2020-12-08T14:42:43","modified_gmt":"2020-12-08T14:42:43","slug":"72-years-of-human-rights-day-20-years-of-hri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/08\/72-years-of-human-rights-day-20-years-of-hri\/","title":{"rendered":"72 Years of Human Rights Day; 20 Years of HRI"},"content":{"rendered":"

A LETTER FROM HRI’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BILL HOLSTON<\/p>\n

December 10 is Human Rights Day<\/a>. It celebrates the day when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted.\u00a0 The very first article is:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/em>a\u00a0spirit of brotherhood.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For twenty years, HRI<\/a> has been fighting to make those words a reality.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Those words were\u00a0shaped by women activists:\u00a0<\/span>Indian delegate Hansa Mehta, champion of women\u2019s rights in her home country, revised the phrase \u201cAll men are born free and equal\u201d to \u201cAll human beings are born free and equal,\u201d\u00a0to make it less patriarchal.\u00a0She, Eleanor Roosevelt, and a\u00a0<\/span>fierce group of women<\/span><\/a>\u00a0were instrumental\u00a0<\/span>in ensuring that the\u00a0<\/span>Universal of<\/span>\u00a0Declaration of Human Rights is what we know today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On<\/span>\u00a0our twentieth birthday<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>we celebrate\u00a0<\/span>women<\/span>\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0role<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in\u00a0<\/span>shaping the\u00a0<\/span>Universal Declaration of Human Rights<\/span>\u00a0in part<\/span>\u00a0because<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>it mirrors<\/span>\u00a0our own founding<\/span>, which was born of\u00a0<\/span>two\u00a0<\/span>women<\/span>:<\/span> Betsy Healy, a<\/span>n\u00a0<\/span>attorney<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and Serena Connelly<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0a social worker<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Today, a<\/span>s has often been the case\u00a0<\/span>for the last twenty years,\u00a0<\/span>our staff (other than me) are all fierce intelligent women justice warriors. They fight every day to assist our clients obtain\u00a0<\/span>the legal<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>status<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>which is so key to\u00a0<\/span>our\u00a0<\/span>client<\/span>s<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0future<\/span>s<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When I was a lawyer <\/span>in private practice, I was drawn to HRI as a volunteer because I knew that this organization was founded by strong, competent and compassionate women and I wanted to be a part of their work. It\u2019s the reason I took pro bono cases from HRI, and the reason I was and remain a financial supporter.\u00a0 I was thankful for the meaning it gave my life. Many of our volunteers experience this same satisfaction.<\/p>\n

All of us are drawn to this work with\u00a0a deep\u00a0respect for our clients. Every day we see the resilience of the women who are escaping domestic violence; the pro-democracy activists, who have freely stood up against oppression; the children making the brave and harrowing journey to seek a life free of violence and abuse; and the brave LGBTQIA individuals fighting for the right to live their authentic life.\u00a0 We approach this work in deep appreciation of bearing witness to their bravery and resourcefulness.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The last year of fighting against the white nationalist agenda of our government during a global pandemic has been extremely difficult, but we are heartened by the example of our clients, and, of course the support we receive from our community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the primary proponents of the\u00a0UDHR\u00a0said:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home \u2013 so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. 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.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am thankful to go to work every day with strong women who have taken up that challenge. This is what makes this organization great, and one which continues to live up to the vision of our founders. Stand with us!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

With respect,<\/p>\n

Bill Holston<\/p>\n

Executive Director, HRI<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The post 72 Years of Human Rights Day; 20 Years of HRI<\/a> appeared first on Human Rights Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on Blog \u2013 Human Rights Initiative<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A LETTER FROM HRI\u2019S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BILL HOLSTON December 10 is Human Rights Day. It celebrates the day when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted.\u00a0 The very first article is:\u00a0\u00a0 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n

The post 72 Years of Human Rights Day; 20 Years of HRI<\/a> appeared first on Human Rights Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":490,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1511,1512,1513,1514,1506,1507,1508,6,238,1509,1510,111,1269],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5384"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/490"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5384"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5385,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5384\/revisions\/5385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}