Women's rights

Around the world, communities, groups and individuals joined the UN to celebrate Human Rights Day and to kick off a campaign to promote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Activities were as varied as the countries where they took place: from specially commissioned music in Guatemala to a blind theatre group in Senegal; from a human rights film festival in Pakistan to a human rights debate contest in Madagascar; from a speech by an Eleanor Roosevelt impersonator in New York to a lecture by Roosevelt’s grandson, Ford Roosevelt, in Rwanda. The UDHR, which turns 70 in 2018, was a milestone in the history of human rights. It was drafted by representatives from different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world. It was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948, and the date has since been celebrated as Human Rights Day. Other activities included: a special publication and video version of UDHR issues relevant to Peru; a tran...

There is a bridge between two universities in Japan that is a small testament to the power of linguistic inclusion and outreach. For more than 50 years Korea University, Tokyo (a Korean minority university) and Mushashino Art University (a Japanese arts university) were side by side, separated by single, chain link fence. Yet the two schools never communicated, recalled Wooki Park-Kim, a Korean minority rights activist born and raised in Japan. Koreans have been resident in Japan since 1910 due to colonization. Recently, the students decided enough was enough. They built a bridge from the Korean side to the Japanese side and began to host art exhibitions in one another’s universities. “Korean school students have been making great efforts to promote greater understanding with greater Japanese society,” she said. Park-Kim was speaking about the importance of mother tongue instruction as part of inclusive education during the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues. The forum, ...