December 10 is observed globally to honour the UN adoption, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since then over a hundred human rights documents or instruments have been adopted at international and regional levels and ratified by many governments. These are significant steps. However, there is need for greater emphasis on achieving the ultimate objectives of this noble undertaking, and towards the responsibilities that accompany the rights.
In the Bahá’í view “the conviction that we are all citizens of one earth, together with a commitment to the well-being and happiness of all mankind, are (sic) the foundation for the realization of the ideals expressed in the universal Declaration of Human Rights”.
To promote and enforce human rights there is need for a new, more just, world order that would stimulate an atmosphere of international cooperation, founded on the mutual interests of mankind. Yet prejudices, discrimination and failures to uphold international law, are resulting in the suffering of millions and hindering the advancement of humanity.
In a new world order envisaged by Bahá’u’lláh, observance of justice and human rights for all will only be possible through conscious belief in the principle of the oneness of humankind. Besides, rights must go hand in hand with responsibilities. Each member of the community has a responsibility to uphold the rights of the other members, based on the recognition of their unity and interdependence.
Each human right is attached to a corresponding responsibility. For example, the right to be recognized equally before the law implies the responsibility to obey the law. Likewise, the right to marry carries with it the responsibility to support the family unit, to educate one’s children and to treat all family members with respect. The right to work cannot be divorced from the responsibility to perform one’s duties to the best of one’s ability. In the broadest sense, the notion of “universal” human rights implies a responsibility to humanity as a whole.
In promoting human rights we have to remember that “the source of human rights is the endowment of qualities, virtues and powers which God has bestowed upon mankind without discrimination of sex, race, creed or nation”, according to a statement of the Bahá’í International Community, “to fulfill the possibilities of this divine endowment is the purpose of human existence”, and “Everyone, individually as well as in association with others, has the right and responsibility to promote the well-being, and respect for the rights, freedoms, identity and human dignity, of all other members of his or her local and national communities, as well as the international community, and the well-being and respect for the identity of these communities as a whole”.
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