[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 184 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

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                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 9, 2008

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise to 
commemorate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights. Sixty years since its inception, the Declaration of Human 
Rights continues to be a foundation for the protection of rights and a 
statement to the world that human rights abuse is an abomination of the 
human race.
  On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations 
adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 
declaration was established from the horrific religious and racial 
bigotry of World War II. The declaration represented the first global 
expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. 
This declaration expresses to the world that human rights are not just 
a principle for the few, the wealthy, or for those who live in 
economically developed nations--human rights are universal and for all 
humankind.
  Today, we still live in a world where people murder their neighbors 
over religion, the color of their skin, and national ideologies. This 
is unacceptable. It is my hope that we as a world of nations can settle 
our differences through dialogue and treat our fellow man with dignity 
and respect.

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