Eleanor Roosevelt

he Universal Declaration — people like Bertha Lutz of Brazil. P.C. Chang of China. Minerva Bernardino of the Dominican Republic. H.J. Mehta of India. Eleanor Roosevelt of the United States and Jessie Street of Australia — were all seized of this simple fact: human rights apply equally to all people, no matter who yo

enty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I would like to pay tribute here to the passionate commitment of Eleanor Roosevelt, who played a decisive role in the drafting of that historic document aimed at ensuring that every human being, anywhere, can enjoy their inalienable

g the best of ourselves as we have tried to do for 75 years. The UN, as I understand it, is not concerned with diplomacy, but with the future and, as Eleanor Roosevelt said on the day of the solemn proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of yo

hip between the State and the human person, individually and collectively. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights began that inspiring trajectory. Eleanor Roosevelt, one of my personal role models, made a decisive contribution to its conclusion. Seventy years later, there can be no question that every individual

who you are or where you come from or what you look like or what God you pray to or whom you love, there is something fundamental that we all share. Eleanor Roosevelt, a champion of the United Nations and America’s role in it, once asked, “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to

ion. The Universal Declaration is an enduring source of inspiration. It was adopted without a single dissenting vote under the inspired leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt, who acted as a change agent before the expression was coined. Just before the vote she said, “We stand today at the threshold of a great event both

ningful advances. As we celebrate the Declaration’s sixtieth anniversary, I recall the vision of a former First Lady of the United States of America, Eleanor Roosevelt, as expressed in her address on 8 March 1960: “We are going to have to work for a peaceful world continuously, without stopping because differences e

ade available to developing States, and Iceland is proud to host the Geothermal Training Programme of the United Nations University. Sixty years ago, Eleanor Roosevelt wisely observed that “The Charter of the United Nations is a guiding beacon along the way to the achievement of human rights and fundamental freedoms

y, our focus is on global security, and we all clearly understand and see that the path to security passes through development, then we should recall Eleanor Roosevelt, who 60 years ago, working on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, stated that men in need were not free. Indeed, only with the realization of

It is very, very important that we do this together. Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the authors of the Universal Declaration. She said, in one of her many speeches in support of the United Nations when it was just beginnin

h of them has taken upon itself the obligation to abide by the purposes and principles of the San Francisco Charter. Under the vigorous leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt, the members of the Commission on Human Rights of the Economic and Social Council worked untiringly, freely and openly discussing the subject, and tr

of Human Rights. May we all pledge ourselves anew to the ideals of this Declaration. Let us at this time pay homage to a great human being, the late Eleanor Roosevelt, who was rightly called the First Lady of the World, and who was so instrumental in the formulation of this most important Declaration. This historic