Human Rights Day, celebrated on Dec. 10, marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948, which acknowledges fundamental rights and freedoms for all.
The United States played a major role in shaping and advancing the UDHR. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was appointed by President Harry S. Truman and chaired the United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights, trying to best determine how a world of conflicting ideologies could reach a universal understanding regarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of people everywhere.
Florida State University’s Mark Schlakman is the senior program director for the FSU Center for the Advancement of Human Rights (CAHR). Since aligning with CAHR in 2002, Schlakman has served as coordinator of the center’s Human Rights & National Security in the 21st Century lecture series. He has also been principal investigator for both the Liberty in the Balance and American Bar Association Death Penalty Assessment projects.
The CAHR was established in 2000 with the mandate of facilitating the development of human rights-related courses throughout the university, of establishing human rights field placements for FSU students, and of supporting non-governmental organizations throughout the world that engage in human rights work.
Schlakman emphasizes the significance of the UDHR and its profound impact today.
“The overarching goal (of the UDHR) was to acknowledge and foster respect for inherent human rights,” Schlakman said. “This transcends nationality, race and ethnicity, where one lives, whether one identifies as religious irrespective of religion or secular, gender, membership in a particular social group, political opinion, socio-economic status or any other potentially distinguishing characteristics.”
Media inquiries on the importance of Human Rights Day may reach out to Schlakman via email at mschlakman@fsu.edu.
Mark Schlakman, senior program director, FSU Center for the Advancement of Human Rights
Human Rights Day celebrates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Can you describe the significance of this document and the impact it has?
Human Rights Day is recognized on Dec. 10 every year by the global community coinciding with the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) — a milestone achievement influenced by wide-ranging legal and cultural experts from around the world in Paris in 1948 arising out of WWII. Translated into more than 500 languages, the UDHR has inspired more than 70 human rights treaties like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which 174 nations including the United States have ratified thus far out of 193 nations currently recognized by the UN.
The ICCPR’s history insofar as the U.S. is notably bipartisan. Despite the significant role the U.S. has played historically toward these ends, visibility and awareness of the UDHR domestically tends to be less apparent than abroad.
Are there aspects of human rights that you feel should be promoted and represented more in today’s media landscape?
Perhaps simply that these are not esoteric matters, nor limited to diplomatic engagement. As noted initially, the U.S. Senate clarified its intent that ICCPR framework have resonance insofar as state and local governance in addition to the federal level.
Here is a practical example of how this framework can be leveraged: Have you ever joined for gatherings you thought meaningful that were coordinated by the city and/or county at some point, for instance like those honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. coinciding with the national holiday, or perhaps experienced some of the coordinated bicentennial celebrations like “200 Years of Florida Civil Rights Champions” recently? This coordinated event featured 40 of Ted Ellis’ renderings, an interpretive historian and director of FSU’s Civil Rights Institute which was established within the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. Ted and I collaborate relatively frequently. One of the themes that we attempt to develop together is that civil rights essentially are codified human rights.
Half of Ted’s renderings honored local champions including Fred and Doby Flowers who are siblings. As readers may be aware, they were FSU’s first African American athlete and homecoming queen, collectively a force behind FSU’s establishment of the Civil Rights Institute.
These frameworks contemplate civil society. That’s us… students, faculty, staff and administrators alike! These frameworks can also facilitate engagement with and within other institutions and environments, including for instance Florida A&M and Tallahassee State College, and conceivably involving local high schools and K-12 as well. These frameworks aren’t reserved exclusively for action by government officials at any level.
Moreover, anchored in the Religion Department within the FSU College of Arts and Sciences, multiple disciplines and departments converge to offer students a Human Rights & Social Justice major.