[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 194 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7382]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, in 1948, in the wake of two World Wars that 
caused death, destruction and atrocities on a massive and unprecedented 
scale, the world came together at the nascent United Nations to 
establish the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  These rights, envisioned as the ``foundation of freedom, justice and 
peace in the world,'' included article 19, the right of everyone to 
freedom of opinion and expression. This, of course, mirrors our First 
Amendment, which for more than two centuries has served as the 
cornerstone of our democracy. Article 19 also includes the ability to 
``receive and impart information and ideas through any media and 
regardless of frontiers,'' as necessary to the realization of that 
right. The free and independent press has fulfilled this essential role 
around the world ever since.
  Today is the 70th anniversary of that landmark declaration; yet as we 
commemorate that historic achievement, I have never been more concerned 
about the state of freedom of the press. Increasingly, around the world 
and even here in the United States, governments are actively trying to 
intimidate and silence the independent media. This year alone, 
according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, over 43 journalists 
have been murdered for nothing more than publishing facts and informing 
the public. Countless others have been harassed and threatened. 
President Trump, who has called the press an ``enemy of the people'' 
and routinely denigrates journalists who do not portray him in a 
favorable light, has inspired the world's autocrats to decry ``fake 
news'' and imprison and even assassinate journalists who courageously 
report on corruption and other government misconduct.
  Eleanor Roosevelt, one of our country's greatest defenders of human 
rights, served as chairwoman of the UN commission that wrote the 
Universal Declaration. Its commitment to the ``inherent dignity'' and 
``equal and inalienable rights'' of all people is a testament to her 
vision of a more humane, just, and peaceful world, but like any such 
statement of principles, the declaration is aspirational. It has 
tangible meaning only to the extent that people apply it in practice. 
As the oldest democracy whose First Amendment has inspired countless 
people on every continent, it is incumbent on us all to defend the 
right of free expression enshrined in article 19 of the Universal 
Declaration, here and around the world.

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