Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – 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 concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”

We’ve drawn inspiration for the Hague Talks on Human Rights Day http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/from the person who fought so hard for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be adopted 70 years ago: Eleanor Roosevelt, a formidable person, who chaired the drafting committee of what’s now the most translated document in the world.

What we’ll be exploring is the lived experience of that document, alongside human rights activists, engaged artists, passionate academics, and asking what relevance does the Universal Declaration have today.

Many people who don’t live in a country where freedom of expression is limited don’t realise how much work there is still to do to get human rights accepted, enforced, spread.  So what can WE do, to make human rights a bigger part of our conversations? What can WE do to make human rights more universal?

Join us in The Peace Palace for a lively discussion about the roles we can all play.

More information:
http://www.haguetalks.com/event/human-rights-begin-small-places-close-home/