Introduction
Peter Weiss
International lawyer, Vice President, Center for Constitutional Rights, New York, NY

Good afternoon, everyone. I'm still full of the spirit of this wonderful event that we've been witnessing. I just said to someone, I haven't seen anything like this since the '60s. I put on my pinstriped suit so you can tell I'm a lawyer. And I have a few (very few) lawyer-ly remarks to make to introduce this very important historic session.

The Charter of the United Nations begins with the words, "We the peoples" - it doesn't say "We the nations," it doesn't say "We the fat cats" - it says "We the peoples." And this event today is in the spirit of those first few words of the United Nations. It's the peoples for whom this charter was written, it's the peoples for whom the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was enacted. And this is going to be an exercise is the recovery of memory. Because half of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been forgotten by the powerful of this earth. And you are going to help revive it, and this distinguished jury is going to help revive it.

You've heard several references to the role that Franklin Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt played in bringing about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and I will read you just a couple of words from Franklin Roosevelt in his second inaugural address: "True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence." And then he named all the rights that we talked about here - health, food, housing, education. And he said, "All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won, we must be prepared to move forward in the implementation of these rights to new goals of happiness and well-being."

Now the reason we have a jury of distinguished citizens today is because the politicians of this world have arranged it so that you can't file complaints under the International Covenant on Social and Cultural Rights. You can file them under the other one, Civil and Political Rights, but can you imagine how many complaints would be filed in Geneva or across the street here in the UN if you could file complaints for violations of economic and social rights? So this is a substitute for that great failure.

And this is the beginning, I think, of a return to first principles. And to revive certain words which have fallen, or been pushed, into disuse. Words like fairness, equity, decency, justice. So you, the jury, will hear the voice of the oppressed, the disadvantaged, the forgotten. Those who are poor in material resources but rich in spirit, courage, and commitment. And after you hear their testimony, we await your verdict on whether this society has done right by them, whether it has upheld the pledge it made when it wrote and voted for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Let me just end with a brief quote from John F. Kennedy:

"If a free country cannot help the many who are poor,
It cannot save the few who are rich."

 

Testimonies - Article 23 Violations