Call for Papers: Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 60
December 10th 2008 sees the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Drafted in the aftermath of the Second World War, the UDHR represents one of the great achievements of the human mind at a time when leading thinkers and states people were coming to understand the interdependent nature of the global society that was beginning to emerge.Sadly, since 1948 the vision of the drafters of the UDHR - that we are each responsible for the well-being of all and that governments have a duty to enable their citizens to flourish in safety - has been eroded by a growing tendency on the part of some states and governments, motivated by morally dubious ideologies, to pursue their selfish interests at the expense of the health of the whole body of humankind. Furthermore, the human rights discourse at the United Nations, amongst governments and in civil society, has become mired in moral relativism and a growing secularism. The National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom has decided to mark this important anniversary by making a distinctive Bahá’í contribution to reenergizing the discourse and rearticulating it in positive ways that are underpinned by Bahá’í principles and moral values. We are planning a range of activities intended to attract the interest and engagement of a wide range of interested individuals and relevant organizations. These will include parliamentary seminars, seminars and other meetings in universities and colleges, sixth form conferences, presentations and discussions in schools and city academies. It is our hope that this programmed will culminate in a major public conference on or near Human Rights Day - 10th December 2008 -at which we hope a number of high profile speakers will address the issue.
The UK Bahá’í contribution to refocusing the human rights discourse will also be reflected in an edited collection of essays on relevant themes to be published by Juxta Publishing.
Call for Papers:
The National Spiritual Assembly invites all those who are interested in writing an essay for this volume to submit a proposal consisting of a suggested title and an abstract of no more than 500 words. Essays should address themselves to one or other of the following broad themes: the history and origins of human rights; the history of the UDHR - especially the input of religious communities to its drafting; . human rights now; . the role of religion in human rights; .rights and responsibilities - revisiting duties whilst maintaining rights; . forging universality - from universality of suffering to universality of rights (an opportunity to explore Baha’i idea of oneness of humanity and its relevance in the rights discourse); looking forward to the world envisaged by 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.’.
Please send your proposal to oea@bahai.org.uk by 1 June 2008. Please note that submission of a proposal is no guarantee of publication.
Rob Weinberg
Secretary for External Affairs.