Holy See Urges Globalized Rights
GENEVA, JULY 3, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The globalization of the economy and communication should be matched by the globalization of human rights, says the Holy See.
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi made this comment in a recent address to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“Like a young tree planted on the ground, the Human Rights Council has been established by the U.N. General Assembly with the hopeful expectation it would grow into a strong and fruitful plant,” the archbishop said. “The multilateral efforts carried out in the last months have provided both a solid example of how working together with patience and good will can yield positive results as well as the needed institutional humus for the tree to grow and eventually meet all expectations.
“The consensus reached, however, is a starting point, a springboard to move ahead and remedy the deficiencies that excessive compromise may have brought about at the expense of a more determined and effective support and promotion of human rights for all men and women even in remote or silenced regions of the world.”
The archbishop called for a globalization of human rights to match the “globalization of the economy, of communications, of the movement of people. The priority of the rights of the human person takes precedence over narrow political considerations and immediate advantages that may accrue by tolerating the violation of these rights.”
He reiterated the challenges still facing the international community.
“The journey of the Human Rights Council has begun,” he said. “The challenge facing the community of states is now that of making it work as that pillar of the international system of coexistence and cooperation it was envisioned to be.
“In this way, resolutions, reports, discussions and technical advice will really contribute to changes on the ground and to the improvement of the quality of life and enjoyment of their rights by all persons.”