The Select Board of the Town of Amherst, did hereby proclaim December 10, 2015 as Human Rights Day.
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Whereas, the General Assembly of the United Nations unanimously endorsed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, sixty seven years ago, under the able leadership of Ms. Eleanor Roosevelt; and
Whereas, the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the result of the experience of the Second World War. With the end of that war, and the creation of the United Nations, the international community vowed never again to allow atrocities like those of that conflict happen again. World leaders decided to complement the UN Charter with the first worldwide agreement and road map to guarantee the rights of all humans, every person, everywhere.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts non-discrimination based on race, color, sex, age, language, religion, political opinion, nationality, social origin, property, birth, or other status such as disability, sexual orientation, or medical condition. It asserts individual civil and political rights, such as freedoms of thought, speech, belief, and the press; economic, social, and cultural rights, such as rights to employment, food, shelter, and health care; the solidarity of the human race; the notion that every right has a corresponding duty; and the interdependence and indivisibility of all human rights and
Whereas, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is considered the authoritative definition of human rights standards and is increasingly referred to as customary international law, which all countries must abide; and
Whereas, the Universal Declaration gave birth to, and continues to inspire, other declarations and covenants further defining human rights standards, such as the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the International Bill of Rights for Women and World Press Freedom Day.
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Select Board of the Town of Amherst, does hereby proclaim December 10, 2015 as HUMAN RIGHTS DAY.
In Amherst and the Select Board encourages all Amherst citizens to be mindful of human rights principles and urges all municipal, state, federal, and international bodies to incorporate these principles into their practices, laws and policies. A community reading of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be held on the North Common at 6 pm on Thursday, December 10 and all are invited to bring a candle and participate.
Voted and signed this Thirtieth day of November, 2015.
Amherst Select Board