Eleanor Roosevelt was already a member of the U.N.'s commission on Human Rights when the delegates voted her in as Chairperson. On December 10, 1948, after three years and thousands of hours of debates among the members, the men and women of the 46 nations of the U.N.'s General Assembly adopted The Universal Declaration For Human Rights.
Thirty Articles were assembled in the declaration to bring attention to the basic rights and freedoms of every human being in every country on our planet to promote dignity, fairness, peace, justice and equality.Many attempts have been made to bring about a universal adherence to basic human rights as far back as our Early civilization. An eyeopening timeline has been created to display the ongoing struggle for human rights that includes The Magna Carta, U.S. Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation proclamation.
Since the 50th anniversary of the Declaration in 1997, efforts have been stepped up to emphasize the importance of these 30 articles and to create awareness as most people, including myself, never knew they existed. In countries where basic freedoms and rights are completely ignored, victims of oppression are suddenly given a chance to connect with support groups when made aware of the declaration.
I was shooting my documentary in Nova Scotia when I got a call to go to the U.N. in New York and document the Youth For Human Rights International Conference. This was four days that has changed my life, humbled me and given it a huge boost in purpose and meaning.
