[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 175 (Monday, December 8, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2472-E2473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2472]]
                     COMMEMORATING HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 8, 2003

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate 
International Human Rights Day which is to be observed on the 10th of 
December. Human Rights Day celebrates the day of December 10, 1948 when 
the United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the standard for equal and 
inalienable rights for all mankind. This historic document has been the 
foundation for freedom, justice, and equality around the world.
  Sadly, 55 years since its inception, human rights abuses are still 
endemic. I would like to draw attention to the widespread problem of 
human trafficking. The trafficking of persons is a modern-day form of 
slavery, involving victims who are typically forced, defrauded or 
coerced into sexual or labor exploitation.
  It is the fastest growing criminal enterprise, occurring around the 
world and in individual countries. Annually, nearly one million people, 
mostly women and children, are trafficked worldwide, including 50,000 
persons into the United States.
  The fact of the matter is that the violent subjugation and 
exploitation of women and girls is on-going and not enough is being 
done by governments to adequately address it. Take for example Skopje, 
Macedonia. In a marketplace, women are forced to walk around a stage 
naked while brothel owners point their fingers to make a selection. 
Women are sold like cattle and they are treated like slaves.
  In Krong Koh Kong, Cambodia, 14 year old girls stand outside of a row 
of shacks where they charge the equivalent of $2 or $3 dollars for sex, 
half of which goes to their pimps. These girls, many of whom have AIDS, 
are discarded when they become too sick to continue working.
  Around the world, women and girls are sold as slaves and are forced 
to engage in unprotected sex because clients offer more money for such 
acts. These women have no control over their lives, their health, or 
their futures. Trafficking victims in the sex industry are exposed to 
HIV/AIDS, at much higher rates than the general population with no 
access to medical care. The fear of infection of AIDS among customers 
has driven traffickers to recruit younger girls, erroneously perceived 
to be too young to have been infected.
  The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report 
classifies countries that allow human trafficking into three tiers. 
Some have observed that the United States has been soft on certain 
Asian countries thought to be lax on trafficking, such as Indonesia, 
the Philippines, India, and Thailand. But because these countries are 
allies in the war on terror, they may have been given a pass.
  Mr. Speaker, in commemoration of Human Rights Day, I call upon 
governments around the world and the government of the United States to 
renew their commitment to combating this form of modern-day slavery. 
Eliminating this transnational criminal activity is one of the greatest 
challenges of our time. We must dedicate our efforts to the prevention 
of human trafficking, protection of victims, and prosecution of 
traffickers. To deny a person their right to freedom is the greatest 
affront to the ideals established 55 years ago set forth by the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We can and must do better.

                 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

       On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United 
     Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of 
     Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following 
     pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon 
     all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration 
     and ``to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and 
     expounded principally in schools and other educational 
     institutions, without distinction based on the political 
     status of countries or territories.''


                                PREAMBLE

       Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the 
     equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human 
     family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the 
     world,
       Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have 
     resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience 
     of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings 
     shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from 
     fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration 
     of the common people,
       Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to 
     have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny 
     and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the 
     rule of law,
       Whereas it is essential to promote the development of 
     friendly relations between nations,
       Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the 
     Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, 
     in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal 
     rights of men and women and have determined to promote social 
     progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
       Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, 
     in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of 
     universal respect for and observance of human rights and 
     fundamental freedoms,
       Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms 
     is of the greatest importance for the full realization of 
     this pledge,
       Now, Therefore the General Assembly proclaims this 
     Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of 
     achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that 
     every individual and every organ of society, keeping this 
     Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching 
     and education to promote respect for these rights and 
     freedoms and by progressive measures, national and 
     international, to secure their universal and effective 
     recognition and observance, both among the peoples of 
     Member States themselves and among the peoples of 
     territories under their jurisdiction.


                               Article 1

       All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and 
     nghts.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should 
     act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.


                               Article 2

       Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set 
     forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, 
     such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or 
     other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or 
     other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on 
     the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international 
     status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, 
     whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under 
     any other limitation of sovereignty.


                               Article 3

       Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of 
     person.


                               Article 4

       No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and 
     the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.


                               Article 5

       No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman 
     or degrading treatment or punishment.


                               Article 6

       Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a 
     person before the law.


                               Article 7

       All are equal before the law and are entitled without any 
     discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are 
     entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in 
     violation of this Declaration and against any incitement 
     to such discrimination.


                               Article 8

       Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the 
     competent national tribunals for acts violating the 
     fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.


                               Article 9

       No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or 
     exile.


                               Article 10

       Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public 
     hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the 
     determination of his rights and obligations and of any 
     criminal charge against him.


                               Article 11

       (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to 
     be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in 
     a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees 
     necessary for his defence.
       (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on 
     account of any act or omission which did not constitute a 
     penal offence, under national or international law, at the 
     time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be 
     imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the 
     penal offence was committed.


                               Article 12

       No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with 
     his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks 
     upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the 
     protection of the law against such interference or attacks.


                               Article 13

       (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and 
     residence within the borders of each state.
       (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including 
     his own, and to return to his country.


                               Article 14

       (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other 
     countries asylum from persecution.
       (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of 
     prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or 
     from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the 
     United Nations.


                               article 15

       (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
       (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality 
     nor denied the right to change his nationality.


                               article 16

       (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due 
     to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and 
     to found a

[[Page E2473]]

     family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, 
     during marriage and at its dissolution.
       (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and 
     full consent of the intending spouses.
       (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of 
     society and is entitled to protection by society and the 
     State.


                               article 17

       (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as 
     in association with others.
       (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.


                               article 18

       Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience 
     and religion; this right includes freedom to change his 
     religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community 
     with others and in public or private, to manifest his 
     religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and 
     observance.


                               article 19

       Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and 
     expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions 
     without interference and to seek, receive and impart 
     information and ideas through any media and regardless of 
     frontiers.


                               article 20

       (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly 
     and association.
       (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.


                               article 21

       (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government 
     of his country, directly or through freely chosen 
     representatives.
       (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public 
     service in his country.
       (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the 
     authority of government; this will shall be expressed in 
     periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal 
     and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by 
     equivalent free voting procedures.


                               article 22

       Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social 
     security and is entitled to realization, through national 
     effort and international co-operation and in accordance with 
     the organization and resources of each State, of the 
     economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his 
     dignity and the free development of his personality.


                               article 23

       (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of 
     employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to 
     protection against unemployment.
       (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to 
     equal pay for equal work.
       (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable 
     remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence 
     worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by 
     other means of social protection.
       (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions 
     for the protection of his interests.


                               article 24

       Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including 
     reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays 
     with pay.


                               Article 25

       (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate 
     for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, 
     including food, clothing, housing and medical care and 
     necessary social services, and the right to security in the 
     event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old 
     age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his 
     control.
       (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care 
     and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of 
     wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.


                               Article 26

       (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be 
     free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. 
     Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and 
     professional education shall be made generally available and 
     higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the 
     basis of merit.
       (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of 
     the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for 
     human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote 
     understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, 
     racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities 
     of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
       (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of 
     education that shall be given to their children.


                               Article 27

       (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the 
     cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to 
     share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
       (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral 
     and material interests resulting from any scientific, 
     literary or artistic production of which he is the author.


                               Article 28

       Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in 
     which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration 
     can be fully realized.


                               Article 29

       (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the 
     free and full development of his personality is possible.
       (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone 
     shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined 
     by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and 
     respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting 
     the just requirements of morality, public order and the 
     general welfare in a democratic society.
       (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised 
     contrary to the purposes and principles of the United 
     Nations.


                               Article 30

       Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying 
     for any State, group or person any right to engage in any 
     activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of 
     any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

                          ____________________