Advocates celebrate human rights declaration at Columbia Public Library

It was the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

By Will Guldin

Published Dec. 11, 2008

Correction appended

Human rights advocates commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Wednesday night at the Columbia Public Library.

Passed in 1948, the declaration outlines rights that the United Nations believes belong to every person.

Nanette Ward, Central Missouri Stop Human Trafficking Coalition executive board member, said though it is hard to enforce the declaration, it serves an important purpose.

"This is really a foundation across the world," Ward said. "It's available in many languages, and people in other countries use this to help educate and make human rights something people in their country are aware of."

The event featured a three-member panel, which gave several interesting perspectives about the struggle for human rights.

The panel consisted of senior Nadege Uwase, Centro Latino Director Eduardo Crespi and local human rights activist David Finke.

Uwase, a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, said human rights is the ability "to feel safe in your country."

"Not only that but to be able to look to your own government to be able to protect you," she said.

Despite her past, Uwase said she isn't discouraged about the possibility for change in how the world looks at human rights.

"It's a challenge to speak about it, but if anything it is my responsibility," Uwase said. "It is a tragic story that should say something, but it shouldn't make people feel powerless. Just because bad things happen every day doesn't mean you can't wake up tomorrow and make a difference."

Crespi is a native of Argentina and survivor of the Dirty War, a campaign carried out by the Argentine government from 1976 to 1983 to rid the country of political opposition groups. The need for human rights legislation is obvious, he said.

"It takes only one human being to be murdered for a political position to understand the need for advocating for human rights," he said.

Crespi stressed that raising awareness is not an easy thing to do.

"The work is constant, constant, and it starts with yourself," he said.

Finke offered a historical perspective about the definition of human rights and how they are seen today.

"We have an expanding sense of what is a human right," he said. "It's how do you want to be treated."

After the panel finished speaking, a short video was shown that showcased the lives of four trafficking victims. These victims were all young children from developing nations across the world who were trafficked to the U.S.

Jennifer Kimball, senior and cofounder of CMSHTC, said trafficking preys on "vulnerable" populations, often focusing on impoverished people with little education who lack political representation.

Kimball said, because victims of trafficking could be exploited for cheap labor, consumers could unknowingly profit from trafficking. There are many things people could do to limit their impact, including buying fair trade goods, she said.

Buying fair trade goods is seen as one way to help, but Claire Garden, a member of Missourians for Safe Energy, said there are still problems.

"Even some of the decisions that we made because we thought we were doing the good thing, turns out to be exploiting labor," she said.