Creating a human rights culture

By Nafsiah Mboi

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we present five articles on human rights on the Opinion Pages including the full text of the declaration.

JAKARTA (JP): Today is a time for reflection on the meaning of human rights and rededicating ourselves to their realization in the lives of the global family.

Fifty years ago on Dec. 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted without dissent by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Born into a world only a decade away from a disastrous economic depression and scarcely two years away from war, the preamble stated that "the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people".

The body of the declaration consists of 30 articles -- the declaration of human rights -- intended to serve "as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations". As we read the declaration today, we long for the same and are called to reflect individually, within each family, each community, each nation: how are we doing? What progress are we making? What more can I/we do?

A cursory survey of the world scene shows a few bright spots. However, we find many other areas where the unfinished business of human rights is daunting and blatant violations of human rights are the stuff of everyday life for vast numbers of men, women and children.

Bringing our reflections closer to home, to the people and the state of Indonesia, we find the same is true. Children's right to survival and development have made great strides; we should take pride in that fact while acknowledging that those very accomplishments are today threatened by our country's economic problems.

On the other hand, if we look at the full range of children's rights set forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child which was ratified by Indonesia in 1990, we find there are areas in which we have not done as well and some where violations of children and their rights continue unchallenged, and in some cases are studiously ignored.

How many children are physically abused and yet little is done? The occasional story which makes it into the newspaper causes us to gasp with horror, but then we throw away the paper and try to forget.

How many children are sexually abused or exploited, in some cases with involvement of their own family, and yet no action is taken against the perpetrators or for the rehabilitation and reintegration of the children who have been so badly used?

How many children are limited in their opportunity to grow and develop, even in their sense of physical security because of discrimination directed at their parents or themselves because of the nature of their work, religion or ethnic background?

All of these are violations of children's rights which go unchallenged, which damage the child and, left unchecked, damage society as a whole.

Furthermore, they often become self-perpetuating. Each child learns what he or she lives.

The child raised in the setting of violence and abuse is more likely to become an abuser him/herself; the child discriminated against learns to practice exclusion and discrimination to protect him/herself; the child taught to obey, not to discuss, looks forward to the day when he/she can give orders, not listen.

At this moment when we in Indonesia are so urgently trying to reinvent and reorient ourselves, to find new patterns and forms of national life, it is clear that many of our problems stem from misunderstanding or violations of human rights.

Given the intergenerational impact of violations of rights, it is imperative that special attention be given to the issue of human rights and children, both in improving our record in protection and implementation of children's rights and, equally important, teaching children by example and education about rights.

The humane, open and fair Indonesia we aspire to cannot be built and sustained by young people who enter adulthood having never learned the fundamentals of human rights.

Children need to understand their own rights and their limitations; the role of rights in national life and nation building; the contribution that successful implementation of the fundamental principles of mutual respect and fair play can make to maintenance of peace and development in the family and community.

If, in this way, we can begin to create a "culture of human rights" among our young people perhaps the rule of law can become a way of life rather than a subject for discussion, fulfillment of human rights can become a commonly understood and shared goal -- by civilians and the military, by children and adults, by teachers and legislators, by civil servants and entrepreneurs.

The task is not easy but neither is it impossible. Each of us must do all that we can, but we must give extra attention to teaching our children and providing them the opportunity to practice the principles, habits and skill needed for promotion and protection of rights.

They must understand, as Eleanor Roosevelt has said, that "the destiny of human rights is in the hands of all our citizens in all our communities".

It is not the responsibility of just the government, just the NGO world, just the lawyers or just the students. It is the responsibility of all of us together.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was an important beginning, but successful conclusion of the struggle for fulfillment of human rights lies not in a document.

It is in our own hands. Let us try to equip our children better than we were equipped that they may accomplish more than we have in this field, which is so crucial to the quality of life of each individual and to the future survival and unity of our nation.

We cannot look for the birth of that new, more humane Indonesia we aspire to if we do not begin with our children now.

The writer, a pediatrician and holder of a master's in public health, is a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.