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| UN Watch welcomes clarification by UN rights chief on Arab Charter |
| 2008-02-07 |
| A few days old, but I just couldn't pass the occasion to highlight excerpts of the "Arab Charter on Human Rights"... Council of the League of Arab States, Cairo Arab Charter on Human Rights adopted on 15 September 1994 (not yet ratified as of 30 June 1997), full text (1), translated from Arabic (2) " The Governments of the member States of the League of Arab States (3) Preamble Given the Arab nation's belief in human dignity since God honoured it by making the Arab World the cradle of religions and the birthplace of civilizations which confirmed its right to a life of dignity based on freedom, justice and peace, Pursuant to the eternal principles of brotherhood and equality among all human beings which were firmly established by the Islamic Shari'a and the other divinely-revealed religions, Being proud of the humanitarian values and principles which it firmly established in the course of its long history and which played a major role in disseminating centres of learning between the East and the West, thereby making it an international focal point for seekers of knowledge, culture and wisdom, Conscious of the fact that the entire Arab World has always worked together to preserve its faith, believing in its unity, struggling to protect its freedom, defending the right of nations to self-determination and to safeguard their resources, believing in the rule of law and that every individual's enjoyment of freedom, justice and equality of opportunity is the yardstick by which the merits of any society are gauged, Because arabo-muslims never invaded anyone. Never, ever. Rejecting racism and zionism, which constitute a violation of human rights and pose a threat to world peace, Acknowledging the close interrelationship between human rights and world peace, See above. (b) Racism, zionism, occupation and foreign domination pose a challenge to human dignity and constitute a fundamental obstacle to the realization of the basic rights of peoples. There is a need to condemn and endeavour to eliminate all such practices. No citizen shall be expelled from his country or prevented from returning thereto. No citizen shall be arbitrarily deprived of his original nationality, nor shall his right to acquire another nationality be denied without a legally valid reason. Adherents of every religion have the right to practise their religious observances and to manifest their views through expression. practice or teaching, without prejudice to the rights of others. No restrictions shall be imposed on the exercise of freedom of belief, thought and opinion except as provided by law. The State guarantees every citizen's right to work in order to secure for himself a standard of living that meets the basic requirements of life. The State also guarantees every citizen's right to comprehensive social security. Citizens have a right to live in an intellectual and cultural environment in which Arab nationalism is a source of pride, in which human rights are sanctified and in which racial, religious and other forms of discrimination are rejected and international cooperation and the cause of world peace are supported. Minorities shall not be deprived of their right to enjoy their culture or to follow the teachings of their religions. Yes. Of course. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #2 UN Watch welcomed the new clarification issued today by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, in response to its Jan. 28, 2008 letter protesting her endorsement of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which contains anti-Semitic provisions. “Last week the High Commissioner endorsed the Arab Charter, but today she has shown courage in criticizing its ‘incompatibility… with international norms and standards,’ and that’s a step forward,” said Hillel Neuer, UN Watch executive director. “We welcome Ms. Arbour’s recognition today that the Arab Charter includes ‘inconsistencies’ in regard to its approach to the death penalty for children, the rights of women and non-citizens, and anti-Zionism.” Oooh, I'l bet Louise popped a friggin vein when she got called on this... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-02-07 13:37 |
| #1 No restrictions shall be imposed on the exercise of freedom of belief, thought and opinion except as provided by law. Semantic content: null |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-02-07 13:33 |