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TEXT: AMB. SHATTUCK ON UNIVERSAL DE



Subject: TEXT: AMB. SHATTUCK ON UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 

22 December 1998 
SOURCE:USIA
TEXT: AMB. SHATTUCK ON UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 

(In Prague, speaks about 50th anniversary of Declaration) (1420)

Prague -- "Today, the Czech Republic stands a proud partner in the
community of nations, respected internationally for its support of
humanitarian principles, with a Constitution that incorporates the
rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration. That is an
extraordinary achievement," said U.S. Ambassador John Shattuck at a
celebration here in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.

Shattuck, former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor, noted that in 1948, "Czechoslovakia was one of eight
member states in the United Nations General Assembly that abstained on
the vote to adopt the Universal Declaration. That abstention was not
an expression of the will of the Czechoslovak people; that abstention
was a symbol of the repression of free will that the Universal
Declaration was designed to combat."

The audience at the December 16 event included notable human rights
activist Anna Sabatova -- one of five human rights activists recently
honored by the United Nations with a special award on the 50th
Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights -- and other Czech
human rights activists who played leading roles in the Czechoslovak
dissident movement and the Velvet Revolution.

"We must remember that we are here tonight to commemorate the steps
the world has made on a journey on which we are all still traveling,"
Shattuck said. "We cannot claim to be close to our destination.... It
is important to note that in our own societies constant vigilance is
necessary to advance human rights against threats posed by intolerance
and discrimination."

The struggles of the United States and the Czech Republic over civil
rights, he said, "demonstrate that we must all work to protect the
rights of our fellow citizens, whether or not they have the same
religious beliefs, or come from the same ethnic background as we do,
because a threat to the rights of one individual is a threat to the
entire society."

And Shattuck ended by quoting the words of Czech President Vaclav
Havel: "I am not an optimist because I do not believe that everything
ends well. Nor am I a pessimist because I do not believe that
everything ends badly. Instead, I am a realist who carries hope, and
hope is the belief that freedom has meaning and liberty is worth the
struggle."

Following is the text of Shattuck's remarks:

(Begin text)

JOHN SHATTUCK
U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC

REMARKS COMMEMORATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY 
OF THE SIGNING OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
December 16, 1998
(As Prepared For Delivery)

Ellen and I welcome you to our new home -- also the home of the
American people and all their friends in the Czech Republic. Rad bych
podekoval vsem nasim vzacnym hostum za jejich dnesni ucast: Cechum,
Americanum, vladnim predstavitelum, cirkevnim hodnostarum a soukromym
osobam.

We are a very diverse group here tonight to commemorate a very special
event -- the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which took place on December 10, 1948.

I'd like for us to spend a few moments reminding ourselves why this
50th anniversary is so important and what it stands for. Fifty years
ago the world was recovering from a terrible war; a war that had torn
apart the fabric of society, a war in which massive genocide, crimes
against humanity and brutal oppression had been committed in the heart
of Europe, as well as in Asia, the Middle East and parts of Africa.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a statement of hope that
these crimes could be banished from the earth. To make that hope a
reality has proven to be one of the most difficult tasks of mankind,
as everyone here tonight knows only too well.

It is especially meaningful for me to celebrate this special
anniversary with you in the Czech Republic. Fifty years ago,
Czechoslovakia was one of eight member states in the United Nations
General Assembly that abstained on the vote to adopt the Universal
Declaration. That abstention was not an expression of the will of the
Czechoslovak people; that abstention was a symbol of the repression of
free will that the Universal Declaration was designed to combat. But
today, the Czech Republic stands a proud partner in the community of
nations, respected internationally for its support of humanitarian
principles, with a Constitution that incorporates the rights enshrined
in the Universal Declaration. That is an extraordinary achievement,
and I join you in celebrating it.

We must remember that we are here tonight to commemorate the steps the
world has made on a journey on which we are all still traveling. We
cannot claim to be close to our destination. We know that in many
places throughout the world, people live today in fear and oppression.
My experiences over the last six years as assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor brought me face-to-face with the
evil that mankind is still capable of in places such as Bosnia,
Rwanda, Kosovo, Haiti, East Timor, and many others.

It is important to note that in our own societies constant vigilance
is necessary to advance human rights against threats posed by
intolerance and discrimination. Over the last half century, the United
States has been the scene of an ongoing struggle for the full civil
rights of all its citizens, regardless of their race or gender or
religion. Over the last fifty years your country has been struggling
for recognition of civil rights, first under a brutal and oppressive
government system, and now in a new hopeful democracy. Neither of
these struggles has been easy, but they both demonstrate that we must
all work to protect the rights of our fellow citizens, whether or not
they have the same religious beliefs, or come from the same ethnic
background as we do, because a threat to the rights of one individual
is a threat to the entire society.

For many of you, and for me, this celebration has special meaning
because it is taking place in this residence, which -- as many of you
have told me tonight -- so often opened its doors in support of human
rights during the communist era. I am a witness to the legacy left by
my predecessors of the 1980's, whom many of you here know well, such
as Ambassadors Bill Luers and Jay Niemczyk. They were proud to stand
with you then, and Ellen and I are proud to stand with you now as we
pledge a renewed commitment to the ideals you have fought for so
bravely -- often at enormous personal cost.

Last week, the UN gave awards to five human rights activists and
grassroots leaders to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is significant and
appropriate that one of these awards went to Anna Sabatova, who
personifies the struggle that so many of you shared. It is gratifying
to see the world's attention focused on the men and women whose
efforts at the grassroots level have provided the momentum for human
rights progress. To the many NGO representatives here tonight, I
express my deep admiration.

My own experience with the dissident movement when I first visited
Prague as a human rights activist in 1988 demonstrated to me
personally the depth of your commitment to building a better world --
a world that we see around us today. It was then that I met Rita
Klimova, who in a later twist of fate became the first Czech
Ambassador to the United States after the Velvet Revolution. It was an
honor then to support those who were working for democratic change in
the former Czechoslovakia, and it is an honor now for me to return as
Ambassador and meet all of you who engaged in that struggle as you
reap the fruits of your labor. Because it is too easy to take things
for granted, let me say again, you have achieved something remarkable.

As President Havel has said so eloquently about the struggle for human
rights, "I am not an optimist because I do not believe that everything
ends well. Nor am I a pessimist because I do not believe that
everything ends badly. Instead, I am a realist who carries hope, and
hope is the belief that freedom has meaning and liberty is worth the
struggle."

(End text)


Source:USIA