Portland Observer, December 14, 1983 Page 5
20%
U.N. human rights goals fall short
by Catherine Siegner
Saturday, December 10, was the
35th anniversary o f the ratification
o f the United Nations Human
Rights Declaration, and in the years
since Eleanor Roosevelt humored
and cajoled 52 disparate nations
into signing it, the world has not
lived up to the document's aspira
tions o f guaranteed basic human
rights for all people.
W alter H o ffm a n , executive vice-
president o f the Campaign for U .N .
Reform and a New Jersey human
rights attorney, brought that mes
sage to Portland Thursday at a
Portland State University speech
marking National Hum an Rights
Week.
H o ffm a n called the U .N . Declar
ation “ on par with the Magna Carta
and the Declaration o f Indepen
dence o f the United States’/ in its
far-sighted vision o f the rights of
humankind. He outlined the U .N .’s
role in protecting each person’s hu
man rights, including “ minimal
guarantees o f human rights for ille
gal aliens; Southeast Asian refugees;
Blacks looking for decent housing;
women seeking equal pay for equal
work, and those suffering from
apartheid in South A fric a .”
In assessing how well govern
ments have adhered to the standards
set by the U .N . Declaration, H o f f
man said the articles guaranteeing
various rights must be applied to
specific situations.
H o ffm an cited Article 14 of the
Declaration, which states that,
“ Everyone has the right to seek and
enjoy asylum in another country,’ ’
but said clients he has represented
hear nothing from the Immigration
and Naturalization Service (IN S ) for
years on end. “ Stars such as athletes
or ballet dancers get asylum fairly
quickly,” he said. “ Someone not
important has to wait and w ait.”
Carter has recommended ratifica
tion, we have never done so,” he
said. "Because of our only ratifying
two or three (U .N . documents) we
have been accused o f hypocrisy on
civil rights.
“ How can we criticise the terri
ble, terrible system o f apartheid in
South A frica when we haven’t rati
fied the covenant on suppression
and punishment o f apartheid?” he
asked. “ W e ’ve done a very stupid
thing.”
H o ffm a n said those opposing the
U .S . signing, for example, the Gen-
things."
H o ffm an suggested the U .N . be
expanded into a world wide watch
dog for human rights; put in a role
where it "can investigate and spot
light human rights violations."
H offm an said he looks at the
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“ W e are on this planet together
and this is a very tiny planet. W hat
happens in one part o f the globe a f
fects all the rest o f u s," he said.
" T h e denial o f human rights can be,
and often is. a cause o f war. It can
be the spark that can light up a nu
clear w a r."
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(Continued from page I column 3)
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Economics
ity is also doing so.
Employment is up now, said
Stein, largely as a result of unusual
ly high consumer demand and a
change in business inventory beha
vior; consumers are buying more
and
businesses are stockpiling
goods. Stein refused to say just
what an "acceptable" level o f un
employment is. but echoed the A d
ministration in predicting an eight
percent rate by the end o f 1984. He
called this an "optim um rate” the
market will produce if inflation is
permanently reduced
Stein had very little to say when
asked whether he foresaw any
change in the Black/w hite employ
ment rate discrepancy being pro
duced by the changes in our eco
nomic structure, except that it is a
problem which "has existed for a
long
time
through
various
dians.
He admitted the U .S. "has a fa ir
ly good record on human rights
compared to some other countries,
but that “ we could still improve
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world in a "global w a y ." not in
terms o f local areas only. H e said
this kind o f view is necessary to
avoid nationalistic narrowminded
ness that, can cause needless divi
sions among the people o f the
SAFEWAY
Article 17 o f the U .N . Declara
tion guarantees everyone the right to
own property either alone or with
others, H o ffm an explained. This
contrasts bleakly with the situation
o f one o f his clients, a Black man
who arranged for a contractor to
build a house, but the contractor re
fused when he learned the man was
Black.
There are additional documents
that have been conceived and drawn
up at the United Nations, H offm an
said, which the United States has
never ratified or signed. These in
clude the U .N . Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights and the Coven
ant on Economic, Cultural and So
cial Rights. Under these covenants,
H o ffm an said, individuals may file
petitions and complaints against
their respective governments in a ju
dicial realm beyond their own boun
daries where their case may be im
partially reviewed.
O f particular concern to H o ff
man is the U .S .’ refusal to ratify the
194« Genocide Convention signed
by President H arry Trum an. “ A l
though every president up through
same time.
Employment
figures
are
important since if employment rises
as fast or faster than production
docs, then productivity per worker
may actually be decreasing even as
more goods are produced, Stein ex
plained. On the other hand, if the
increase in jobs is really only two
percent while the increase in goods
produced is larger (let us say the cur
rent six percent), then productivity
may have increased.
Thus, cautioned Stein, although
both the employment and growth
rates seem to be rising, it doesn’t ne
cessarily mean Am erica’s productiv
ocide Convention, argue that by
signing we could be accused o f gen
ocide relating to the American In
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