UN Day 2018: 70th Anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration

Thank you for being here today to commemorate not only United Nations Day, but also the birth of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This, is one of a number of events held this year, to mark the 70th anniversary of the Declaration.

As you have heard, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in the immediate post war period.  It is a landmark, aspirational document,  and, encouragingly,  also holds the Guinness Book of Records official entry as the most translated document in the world. These six essential pages are translated into three hundred and seventy languages and dialects from Abkhaz to Zulu. Of course – simple translation is not enough, the focus must also be on how the rights and freedoms referenced in the Universal Declaration, are translated into reality for everyone, everywhere.

These large images placed around the room present the faces and words of well-known human rights defenders.

Among them, you can see Eleanor Roosevelt - who oversaw the drafting of the Declaration. She named it “the international magna carta of all mankind” not only because it provides the foundation for international human rights law, but also because it gives sense and purpose to being human; it espouses fundamental rights inherent to everyone, irrespective of ethnic origin, sex, religion or any other status.

Translating the Declaration into the reality for everyone needs a two-fold approach – actions by institutions and by individuals.

Since Montenegro became a UN Member State in 2006, its cooperation with the UN Human Right system has been very good. The country has ratified almost all international human rights instruments and acted as a full member of the Human Rights Council.   

Despite being a small State, there are currently no reports pending to the UN Treaty Bodies, The country cooperates regularly  with so called ‘UN Special Procedures’ – most recently with the Independent Expert on Older Persons. Montenegro also successfully carried out the 3rd cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council in 2017.

Still, States, as duty bearers, must put an emphasis on protecting human rights.

The UN welcomes Montenegro’s commitment to strengthen its national mechanism for reporting and follow up on recommendations. Dedicating resources to help institutions implement recommendations will not only improve the lives of people often ‘left behind’ including the Roma and Egyptian community, children, women, refugees and migrants, members of LGBTI community and people with disabilities. But also help Montenegro, as it moves closer to Membership of the European Union, to meet the benchmarks established for progress in Chapter 23 and 24 of the Acquis Commun-au-taire.

In Montenegro, the United Nations, support implementation of the Universal Declaration through the work of its Agencies and programmes. Together with national partners, we seek to empower women politically and economically, we strive for adequate health standards, improvements in the rule of law.  We care about social protection and education for all children and vulnerable groups, we assist refugees and migrants. Even at this moment, our teams are in Pljevlja assisting more than 100 migrants that were pushed back in the last few days from the border with a neighboring country. Together with you, we can do still more to implement the Declaration through the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me come back again to Eleanor Roosevelt. She asked “where, do universal human rights begin” and answered, “in small places, close to home, close to the individual and the neighborhood”. This sentiment is common to Montenegrins and captured, I’m told, in the – idea and values of ČOJSTVO I JUNAŠTVO or the notion of  ‘protecting yourself from the other, but also protecting others from yourself’.

And, on the individual level, human rights are nothing more than that – a respect for one another regardless of colour, gender or sexual orientation, origins or beliefs.

It is also a call for the individual to be brave enough to stand up for human rights. To stand up for those whose rights are abused - a neighbor experiencing domestic violence, a schoolmate or person with disabilities subject to bullying, or an LGBTI friend attacked because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We all have a responsibility to strive for the respect of human rights for everyone.

As I conclude, let me reference Secretary General Guterres in a statement he made during the General Assembly this year. He notes that taking no action to address human rights violations can only be a sign of weakness, not strength and that we still have a long way to go before respect for human rights is truly universal. “Despite the odds and the obstacles” he said “we will never give up”.

Dear friends,

I call upon all of us to join forces and translate together the words of the Declaration making it a reality through concrete action. Every day. Everywhere. For everyone.

I thank you.