Over the past month, Canadian Baha’is joined like-minded citizens across the country in observing the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It was on December 10, 1948 that the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the human rights declaration. It is now recognized as a foundational document for the international movement to respect fundamental human rights and has since become the world’s most translated text.
In Victoria BC, Baha’is were among 150 people brought together by the local multifaith society to mark the event. Baha’i speaker Dr. Mary-Wynne Ashford, past President of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, spoke of the emergence of the organizations of civil society, including the human rights movement, as “the world’s newest superpower.” Civil society is increasingly seen as a force balancing the powers of government and corporations.
Baha’is throughout the world regularly engage with non-governmental organizations to support a range of progressive concepts and movements encouraged in the teachings of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith. Baha’u’llah frequently emphasized the need to take moral-ethical perspectives into account when seeking to build a more just and equitable civilization. Along these lines, Dr. Gerald Filson, representing the Canadian Baha’i Community at the Victoria event, spoke of the balance between moral and legal means of advancing the many human rights issues around the globe. Another Baha’i, Linda Kavelin-Popov, led a workshop for 50 children under the theme “Becoming Your Best Self”, with content based on the Virtues Project.
Baha’is in Dunnville, Ontario, organized an event featuring Marina Nemat, author of the book Prisoner of Teheran. Ms. Nemat spoke of her experience in Iran as a prisoner in the notorious Evan prison. She also spoke to a large audience of students in a local high school. A significant number of Canadian Baha’is, many originally from Iran, have themselves experienced violations of their human rights, including imprisonment, expulsion from jobs and schools, and even torture, all due to their personal beliefs. The articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights specifically refer to the right to freedom of religious belief.
In Cochrane, Alberta, the Baha’i Community organized a panel discussion at a local coffee shop on the status of human rights throughout the world. Judie Bopp opened the meeting with a historical review of the contribution of the Baha’i Faith to the formulation and development of human rights in the world. It was noted, for example, that the International Baha’i Community had made a presentation to the first session of the Human Rights Commission as far back as 1947. Also at that meeting, local newspaper columnist Warren Harbeck spoke on some recent examples of human rights violations in Asia and Africa, while local municipal councilor Ross Watson, a former member of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, spoke on Alberta’s human rights legislation. Following the occasion, Mr. Harbeck dedicated his column in The Eagle, a local newspaper, to the subject of human rights.
The Baha’is in St. Marys, Ontario took a somewhat different tack, hosting three different events. A display on human rights was included in the Human Rights Fair hosted at the local library. An art show honouring the work being done by local groups to promote human rights, as well as the work of the St Marys Council, was organized. A fundraising dinner was also held, with half of the money raised donated to the St. Marys Food Bank and the other half going to an international aid group Wells 4 Africa.