MARUAH Singapore

The Power of a Declaration
Making human rights real.
Amartya Sen, The New Republic Published: Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Nineteen forty-eight may have begun as an unsettling year, with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in January, but it ended on a positive note, when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December. There was a reasoned vision of lasting importance underlying the declaration; it was momentous in its time, and it remains important today. Invoking human rights has become a major way of challenging inequities and oppression in the contemporary world, and in this development the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the fledgling United Nations sixty years ago, swayed not least by the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt, has played an indisputably significant and astonishingly constructive role.
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MARUAH has, together with over 90 organisations, endorsed a statement on the treatment of Rohingya and Bangladeshi ‘Boat People’. Read the rest of this entry »

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released information on the status of the ASEAN Human Rights Body via a press release. Read the rest of this entry »

As part of the U60 celebrations of the recent 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), MARUAH (Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism) held an event to emphasize the importance of Articles 23-25 of the UDHR, which deals with fair and just conditions for workers.

This event, Making A Commitment, was held on 13 December 2008 at Speakers’ Corner. Organized by MARUAH with support from partners such as Action for Aids, AWARE, Transient Workers Count Too, HOME and individuals, a number of speakers spoke up on the need for protection for vulnerable communities such as contract workers, the elderly, those with disabilities, migrant workers, persons living with HIV and people who are homosexuals or transgender.

Members of the public were invited to make a pledge – a commitment – to affirm their stand which many did by holding up placards with a chosen slogan promoting a workplace issue. These were captured on video by volunteers, Mr Patrick Chng and Ms Stephanie Chok, as a New Year resolution for 2009 to treat all workers with dignity.

The Lancet has released a special report on the right to health on 10 December 2008, International Human Rights Day, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
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MARUAH wishes one and all a meaningful Human Rights Day (10 December)

See below for an article on the 4th Roundtable Discussion. Ms Braema Mathi and Mr Leong Sze Hian from MARUAH participated in the discussion held in Bangkok, 20-21 November 2008. Read the rest of this entry »

The Thai Constitution and Human Rights

Human rights during times of turmoil

VITIT MUNTARBHORN

December 10 is a special day for at least two reasons. It is Thailand’s Constitution Day and also the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the “Magna Carta” (Great Charter) of human rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948.

While some may claim that we should be celebrating the 60th birthday of that seminal document this week, others may prefer to call for its commemoration, given the turmoil surrounding the implementation of human rights in many countries.
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A long way to go for human rights in Asia

Published on December 10, 2008

Thailand aims to lead Asean in improving protection, but our own record also falls short

Today is International Human Rights Day and also the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR). When Thailand signed the UNDHR in 1948, it became the boldest country in Asia by acceding to the universal norms that respect human rights. It was the first Asian country to do so. That was a remarkable undertaking, achieved at a time when Thailand, like other countries, had just emerged from the destruction of World War II. Thailand wanted to join the international community as soon as possible. After officially supporting the Japanese against the Allied forces, Thailand wanted to clean up its recent past by quickly embracing the United Nations and other related international activities. International organisations, including their universal values and shared norms, served as a shield for Thailand against the threat of communism.
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Six decades after affirmation, challenges remain

NAVANETHEM PILLAY

Today we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that marked a crucial turning point in human history as the first international agreement setting out freedoms, rights and entitlements for all humanity to claim.

Six decades ago, it affirmed that the force of shared ideas and a common vision of respectful and peaceful coexistence can prevail over brutality, hatred and destruction.

Since then, the world may have changed a great deal, but the recognition of our inherent kinship in rights, of our common claim to a life in dignity, of our right to count and be counted irrespective of our ancestry, gender and colour, status and creed applies to today’s realities as much as it did in 1948.
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