There are those who feel this is a crucial step for the US, a step that recognizes the state of the Romanies in Europe and the need for their protection, education, and inclusion. There are also those who feel this is just another piece of paper, more ink on a page, that will go no where.
We have had our share of paper, that is certain. We've had more conferences, symposiums, meetings, summits, round tables, discussion groups, and think tanks than can possibly do any good. And now we have the Decade of Roma Inclusion. Several meetings that scribbled a lot of words on paper and countries started to sign it.
And, alas, I feel that is where the good part ended.
Those countries signed on have been some of the worst violators of our human rights in recent years. If the Decade has done any good, it has brought to light the obscenities in Europe. It has not stopped them.
I feel it is time for us, the Romani people, to take a stand for ourselves. It is time for us to mobilize, to act in our own best interests, and to deal with these issues. But what are the issues and what are their priorities? I feel there is but one key issue that will help a man with his other problems.
Education. Education is power. It is that simple. Without it, you are at the mercy of the educated and they can dictate your life to you. They can stamp you with an identity, create their own version of your history, and force you and your children into a cycle of poverty. But what subjects do you really need to know? This is a question faced by educators around the world. A basic education should be the ability to read, to perform basic mathematics, and to know your rights. If you can read and do the math, you can work. If you know your human rights, you can protect yourself. You can defend yourself.
Why should we bother to learn about our human rights? Because these rights are recognized by the same countries who violate them and the UN and other signing nations have a duty to make sure these are enforced. These rights are valid because everyone is born to them. They are not earned, as some politicians would have us think. They are not given to one 'race' and denied to another as the Nazis would have us think. They belong to everyone.
The history of human rights can be traced back a few hundred years to the abolitionists. They began a true movement against the disgusting practice of the slave trade. The first step for them was to recognize the suffering of their fellow human beings and then they had to take the step to ensure change. It wasn't easy.
Think on this a moment. Who were the owners of the slaves? In some countries, where Romanies were slaves, it was the crown and the church who owned slaves. The people in the highest realms of power in both the temporal and spiritual world. In the United States, it was the wealthy plantation owners, the leaders of industry, that owned the slaves. They were the economic captains who needed cheap labor to make their money. The same in Britain. Abolitionists were fighting an uphill battle against the powers that be.
They began a campaign that started small. They wrote essays and pamphlets and gave speeches and sermons to sway public opinion. When the people, the average citizen, started to understand the principle that freedom is a right to be given to everyone, then the ball started rolling and there was no way to stop it. Laws forbidding the trade of slaves were passed, though this did not end slavery altogether. We know that in the States, it took a war to end slavery, though slavery was NOT the only reason why we went to war with our fellow citizens.
When slavery was abolished, several things happened all at once. The freed slave discovered that, while he was no longer a slave, he had few, if any rights. He also became a second-class citizen, subjected to hatred and violence. Racism and segregation replaced slavery and blacks in the United States still fight to this day to be called equals.
Something else came out of the Abolitionist movement: women's rights. Many women had fought the good fight to free the slaves and realized they were little better off than the newly freed slave. Women began to fight for the right to vote, to have status in the courts against abusive husbands, and to have the right to own property, among other demands. Women's rights have come along way, but, just like the black man, women have a long road ahead.
World War I began, the War to End all Wars. If only. In this war, mankind found new ways to kill the enemy, ways that were far more grotesque than ever before. We managed to create a whole new world of nightmares, of ways to suffer and die, forcing medicine to make up the balance. Advances in medicine grew from the violence of a new way of warfare. But from this, there came a desire to protect the rights of the soldier. Activists discovered that for every 1,000 horses, there were 4 veterinarians, yet only 1 doctor for the same number of soldiers. From this, came the rights of the soldier and the Red Cross.
We know that the peace between WWI and WWII was more of a ceasefire. The Nazis had to put the blame somewhere, so they pointed to the Jew and the Gypsy for bringing foreign blood to Europe, blamed the Jews for the economic conditions, and taught their children to hate. We know the results. The Holocaust. Over 6 million Jews and about 1-2 million Romanies died side by side in the gas chambers for the crime of being born.
The atrocities committed by the Nazis set the stage for the creation of the UN in hopes that differences between countries could be solved by more peaceful debate. And the UN created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to protect the citizens of the world in our vow of "Never Again." These rights became subject to law through ratification by the signing countries.
So what are they? This has been taken directly from the UN. Please note the emphasis are mine.
PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Article 1.
- All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2.
- Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3.
- Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4.
- No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5.
- No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6.
- Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7.
- All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8.
- Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9.
- No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10.
- Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11.
- (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
- (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
Article 12.
- No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13.
- (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
- (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14.
- (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
- (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15.
- (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
- (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16.
- (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
- (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
- (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17.
- (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
- (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18.
- Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19.
- Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20.
- (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
- (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21.
- (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
- (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
- (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22.
- Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23.
- (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
- (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
- (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
- (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24.
- Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25.
- (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
- (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26.
- (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
- (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
- (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27.
- (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
- (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28.
- Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29.
- (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
- (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
- (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30.
- Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
Consider these carefully. Have you noticed that these are not being taken into consideration by all countries? The Czech Republic is a perfect example. Not only are they breaking multiple articles when it comes to the Romani people, but it is the Czech Republic who is on the committee for writing human rights policy for the UN!
All Romanies need to know their rights and how to exercise them. We, as world citizens, must help those who cannot help themselves. We must find a way to create educational programs that can assist Romanies in all countries to defend their rights.
It can be done. Like the first activists, we have to take that step from just thinking that something is unjust and act upon it. Find a way to help. Be a part of our own solution.
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