Featured Articles in Volume 23, Issue 1 (2009)

The Emory Declaration on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights*

We, persons seeking to advance the consensus on human rights, Affirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, And in consideration of the following:

Whereas, the UDHR emerged in a particular historical context, and the course of history is not static; and

Whereas, the consensus around the UDHR has been challenged by concerns about imposition upon and incompatibility with cultural or religious value systems; and

Whereas, enforcement of the UDHR standards has been challenged by the effects of globalization and the proliferation of non-state actors that violate human rights but are unaccountable under the current framework; and

Whereas, economic, social, and cultural rights have been treated with less urgency than civil and political rights, yet violations of economic, social, and cultural rights have increased in the wake of globalization; and

Whereas, violations of the UDHR are both cause and consequence of environmental destruction,

Declare the following:

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* A draft version of this Declaration was distributed to participants at Advancing the Consensus: 60 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Emory University School of Law, October 16–18, 2008, and used as the basis for roundtable discussions.

Opening Remarks

Jimmy Carter*

In 1920, four years before I was born, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed to give white women the right to vote. African-American women in the South did not get the right to vote until 45 years later, with the passage of the Voting Rights Act. That is a sobering way to start this conference, to remind ourselves that we cannot take basic human rights or civil rights for granted. This describes the situation during my youth.

I grew up in a legally racist society in Archery, Georgia, two and one-half miles west of Plains, Georgia, when "separate but equal" was the law of the land. This was ordained by the Supreme Court and supported without question in the Congress. At the time, there were no vocal members of the American Bar Association who questioned it, and it was supported not only in the South but throughout the country in the general society.

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* Thirty-ninth President of the United States and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize.

Keynote Address: Islam, Human Rights, and Iran

Shirin Ebadi*

On the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I deem it necessary first and foremost to thank all those individuals and groups who have endeavored to promote human rights values globally. I would also like to extend my warmest gratitude to everyone who has helped to sponsor the event today.

One of the important debates today, both in the Muslim world and globally, is whether Islam and human rights are indeed compatible and whether Islamic governments can run state affairs in a manner that is in accordance with human rights values. There are two groups that believe Islam and human rights values are not compatible. The first group includes non-democratic Islamic states and extremist religious groups.

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* Shirin Ebadi is a lawyer, human rights activist, and the recipient of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize.