SECRETARY KERRY'S STATEMENT ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Human Rights Day 2014
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 10, 2014

Delegates from around the world came together 66 years ago amid the rubble of World War II to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, articulating fundamental civil and political rights of all people, and reminding each of us of our responsibility to respect those rights.

This past September, I was reminded of the power and enduring relevance of the Universal Declaration when I stood at the United Nations with Shin Dong-hyuk, a courageous young man who had escaped from a North Korean prison camp and defied one of the world's most egregious dictatorships. He was a living, breathing example of our own duty to uphold justice and expose abuses wherever and whenever violations occur.

Keeping faith with that duty is the right thing to do, but it’s also the smart thing to do. When international human rights standards are observed, sustainable economic progress is more likely, terrorists and criminals find it harder to operate, and societies are better able to benefit from the skills and energy of their citizens. By contrast, when human rights standards are ignored, the result is often chaos and strife, leading to massive suffering that can impose high costs in both financial resources and lives. We see this today in Iraq, where a ruthless terrorist group has directed a campaign of murder, kidnapping, and theft at people of all religions and ethnic groups. We see it in Syria, where a dictator’s use of indiscriminate violence against his own people has triggered the largest humanitarian catastrophe of this century. And we see it many places where a failure to respect human rights, combined with other factors, has produced hostilities that weaken nations and put civilians, including children, at grave risk.

On this Human Rights Day, there are still too many people who struggle for freedom and too many who are punished in pursuit of that dream. Today we note the remarkable peaceful efforts of individuals like Liu Xiaobo of China, Ahmed Maher of Egypt, Eskinder Nega of Ethiopia, Azimjon Askarov of the Kyrgyz Republic, and other political prisoners on every continent; we call for their release, and we ask that in the meantime they are at least treated in full accordance with global norms.

We live at a time when democratic principles and respect for human rights have greater reach

than at any previous time in history. This is due not simply to what governments have done,

but to what people around the world have done to elevate, monitor, and enforce human rights standards. However, past progress is no guarantee of future gains. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the very opposite of a self-fulfilling document. It’s a promise to keep. Let’s all make sure we keep it.

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S STATEMENT ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY 2013

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Human Rights Day 2013
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 10, 2013

Around the world, the fundamental struggle for dignity – for economic justice, political freedom, and personal expression – continues every day and in many forms. I’ve seen firsthand what can happen when we work together to change things for the better. As a young Senator visiting Manila, I saw tears of joy in the eyes of a Filipino woman who emerged from a voting booth casting her ballot for the first time after 17 years of dictatorship. As Secretary of State, I’ve seen pride on the faces of young girls in Afghanistan, who would have been denied an education under the Taliban. And I’ve seen the courage of Libyans who filled Freedom Square – first to bring down a dictator and then to let Libya’s democratically elected government know their demands. Just in recent days, I've seen Ukrainians peacefully fill the city squares in Kyiv and across their country to demand that their voices be heard loudly and clearly.

Across the world, the struggle is not over; the march of human dignity is not complete. More than six decades after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are still working to ensure that the rights set forth in it become “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.”

Making this vision a reality requires both the persistent protection of governments as well as the active participation of citizens. Nothing can match the power of grassroots movements. In my own generation's struggle, I saw vividly how activists came together to change our nation through movements committed to advance labor rights, civil rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights, the rights of the disabled, the environment and peace. America grew stronger because courageous citizens were willing to take a stand to fight for the things they believed in, willing to risk their lives on picket lines and voting lines and even go to jail for justice, to help their country live up to its ideals.

Around the world today, some of today’s greatest advocates for change – from Gao Zhisheng of China to Ales Byalyatski of Belarus to Angel Yunier Remon Arzuaga of Cuba – sit in prison simply because they fought for the rule of law and the right of human beings to express themselves.

There are many whose names we will never know, whose courage goes unremarked but is all the more remarkable because they put their lives on the line in the face of beatings, imprisonment, and even death in the near certainty that their sacrifice will be anonymous.

On this Human Rights Day, the United States honors the courage and commitment of men, women, and children around the world who risk their lives to secure universal rights for all.

Today and every day, we will continue to support their efforts to achieve a world that is more just, more free, and more peaceful and secure.

U.S. CRITICAL OF CUBA FOR DETAINING DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS

Map:  Cuba.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.  

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Scores of Cuban Democracy Activists Detained on the Eve of Human Rights Day
Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
December 10, 2012
　

We are deeply concerned by the Cuban Government’s repeated use of arbitrary detention and violence to silence critics, disrupt peaceful assembly, and intimidate independent civil society.

We understand that across Cuba, 94 members of the peaceful pro-democracy group - The Ladies in White - were reportedly beaten and detained on December 9. Just ahead of Human Rights Day, the women had used their weekly gathering, church attendance, and peaceful march to focus attention on continued human rights abuses in Cuba.

We call on the Cuban Government to end the increasingly common practice of arbitrary and extrajudicial detentions, and we look forward to the day when all Cubans can freely express their ideas, assemble freely, and express their opinions peacefully.
　

Cuba Locator Map.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
The native Amerindian population of Cubanbegan to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule eventually provoked an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 assisted the Cubans in overthrowing Spanish rule. The Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence from the US in 1902 after which the island experienced a string of governments mostly dominated by the military and corrupt politicians. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule held the subsequent regime together for nearly five decades. He stepped down as president in February 2008 in favor of his younger brother Raul CASTRO. Cuba's Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country faced a severe economic downturn in 1990 following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba at times portrays the US embargo, in place since 1961, as the source if its difficulties. Illicit migration to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via the southwest border - is a continuing problem. The US Coast Guard intercepted some 1,000 individuals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in fiscal year 2011.