Jan 8, 2008 / 13:05 pm
Everyone has “the right and the responsibility to defend and implement all human rights", declared Archbishop Silvano Tomasi in a speech to the U.N. Human Rights Commission, which is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year.
Archbishop Tomasi described how the declaration "remains the single most important reference point for cross-cultural discussion of human freedom and dignity in the world and represents the customary-law base for any discussion about human rights".
The rights presented in the declaration "are not conferred by States or other institutions but they are acknowledged as inherent to every person, independent of, and in many ways the result of ethical, social, cultural and religious traditions.
While some people may believe that "Human dignity concerns democracy and sovereignty,” this dignity also “goes at the same time beyond them", he said.