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OHCHR / HUMAN RIGHTS 75 ANNIVERSARY
STORY: OHCHR / HUMAN RIGHTS 75 ANNIVERSARY
TRT: 03:04
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 11 DECEMBER 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, Palais des Nation
2. Wide shot, Palais des Nation with HR75 banners
3. Various shots, outside Room 20 in the Palais des Nations participants arriving
4. Various shots, inside room 20 participants
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights:
“In the ashes of global warfare, it brought hope. To put an end to cycles of bloodshed, it promised justice. It promised development that would be secure, equitable; inclusive. It set out the path to peace.”
6. Med shot, meeting room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights:
“But alongside the progress that has transformed many of our societies, there have also been numerous failures to uphold human rights over the past 75 years. We live among many such failures today – with the turmoil and suffering that they produce.”
8. Med shot, participants
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights:
“War: my thoughts go to the millions of people suffering unbearably in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, notably in Gaza, and Israel; in Sudan; Ukraine; Myanmar; and so many other places. Famine. Oppressive and hateful discrimination. Repression and persecution. Threats to human rights generated by climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.”
10. Med shot, Türk speaking
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights:
“It was drawn up at a time of horror, after the most monstrous mass killing the world has ever known, in the form of the Holocaust – and with the knowledge that total destruction was growing closer. It has demonstrated its power and efficacy over decades. It bridges every sector of Government action and field of human endeavour.”
12. Med shot, participants
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights:
“At a time of so little solidarity, and so much divisive and short-sighted vision, I view it as a call to overcome polarisation. A call to work, with courage and principles, together, to resolve the huge challenges that we face.”
14. Med shot, screen
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, High Commissioner for UN Human Rights:
“A call to hark back to the spirit that led every Member State to adopt the Universal Declaration, and to base local, national and global decisions, across all areas of policy, on the intrinsic, and equal, value of every human life.”
16. Wide shot, meeting room
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk today (11 Dec) opened a two-day event in Geneva marking the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Opening the meeting, Türk described the importance of the Universal Declaration, written in the aftermath of World War Two.
“In the ashes of global warfare, it brought hope. To put an end to cycles of bloodshed, it promised justice. It promised development that would be secure, equitable, inclusive. It set out the path to peace,” the UN Human Rights Chief said.
The Declaration is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Its core message - all human beings are born equal in dignity and rights.
The event on 11 and 12 December brings together participants from across the world.
Heads of State and Government, civil society actors and human rights defenders, business leaders, sportspeople, artists and economists are among those attending.
The event is also connected to similar meetings in Bangkok, Nairobi and Panama.
The focus is on crafting a vision for the future of human rights.
It is the culmination of a year-long campaign, Human Rights 75, hosted by UN Human Rights aimed at rejuvenating the spirit that led to the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by global consensus at the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948.
The UDHR was brought about by the energy and vision on the part of communities across the world, Türk said.
“But alongside the progress that has transformed many of our societies, there have also been numerous failures to uphold human rights over the past 75 years. We live among many such failures today – with the turmoil and suffering that they produce,” Türk said.
“War: my thoughts go to the millions of people suffering unbearably in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, notably in Gaza, and Israel; in Sudan; Ukraine; Myanmar; and so many other places. Famine. Oppressive and hateful discrimination. Repression and persecution. Threats to human rights generated by climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss,” he said.
The Universal Declaration provides a solution.
“It was drawn up at a time of horror, after the most monstrous mass killing the world has ever known, in the form of the Holocaust – and with the knowledge that total destruction was growing closer. It has demonstrated its power and efficacy over decades. It bridges every sector of Government action and field of human endeavour,” said Türk.
During the event, States and others are making pledges related to human rights.
The High Commissioner said the event is a call to hope, and a call to action.
“At a time of so little solidarity, and so much divisive and short-sighted vision, I view it as a call to overcome polarisation. A call to work, with courage and principles, together, to resolve the huge challenges that we face,” he said.
“A call to hark back to the spirit that led every Member State to adopt the Universal Declaration, and to base local, national and global decisions, across all areas of policy, on the intrinsic, and equal, value of every human life,” Türk stressed.
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