Conrad Gershevitch (right) was the guest speaker at the UDHR anniversary celebration at the Baha’i House of Worship in Sydney on Sunday 7 December. He is pictured with John Walker, National Secretary of the Australian Baha’i Community.
Baha’is throughout Australia have celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at events attended by prominent human rights specialists.
Perth
Social justice campaigner Fred Chaney AO was the keynote speaker at a well-attended gathering held at the Baha’i Centre of Learning in Perth on 10 December 2008.
A former Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Mr Chaney is currently a board member of Reconciliation Australia. He is a former Deputy President of the Australian National Native Title Tribunal.
The theme of the evening was the ongoing relevance of the Declaration of Human Rights and the need for vigilance to ensure its provisions were implemented.
Other guests included Fremantle Federal Member of Parliament Melissa Parke and United States Consul-General Kenneth Chern.
Spokesperson for the Baha’i Council for WA, Wendy Wisniewski, said the aim of the event was to raise awareness of the Declaration and its ongoing relevance to people around the world.
It was organised in response to the United Nations’ campaign to make the Declaration a reality for all, Mrs Wisniewski said.
“Baha’is have long played an active role in promoting the Declaration and made submissions at the time of its drafting in 1947,” she said.
Sydney
Several hundred Baha’is and their guests marked the anniversary with a service in the Baha’i House of Worship in Sydney on 7 December 2008.
Before the service, guest speaker Conrad Gershevitch spoke about the significance of the Declaration, with particular reference to the right to freedom of religion and belief.
Since 2001, the role of religion had been increasingly apparent at the centre of global issues, said Mr Gershevitch, Director of the education and partnerships section of the Race Discrimination Unit of the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Noting the deep moral conflict in balancing the right to security with individual rights, Mr Gershevitch called for pursuit of “civil paths to peace.”
Canberra
At the Baha’i Centre in Canberra on 4 December 2008, the Australian Baha’i Community hosted a lunch and roundtable to celebrate the anniversary.
One of the keynote speakers was Mr Richard Towle, the official representative of the UN Secretary-General in Australia and the South Pacific and the regional representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
“Honouring human rights can provide predictability, order and peace in the way humans relate to each other,” Mr Towle said in his address.
Among the other speakers were Professor James Anaya, UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples, and Ms Tessa Scrine, Executive Officer Government Relations for the Australian Baha’i Community and the convenor of the Australian Forum on Human Rights Organisations.
The guests included some 30 participants in the Diplomacy Training Program’s annual human rights and people’s diplomacy training for human rights defenders. They came from 29 countries in the Asia-Pacific region and indigenous Australia.
Brisbane
On 10 December, more than 100 people attended a celebration of the anniversary at the Brisbane Baha’i Centre of Learning.
Among the guests were the director of the Griffith University Multi-Faith Centre, Professor Toh Swee-Hin, interfaith specialist Dr Virginia Cawagas, and the coordinator of the Brisbane Northside Interfaith Group, Peter Jones.
The event included a quiz on the Declaration followed by an address about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The program also included a presentation about the Baha’i involvement at the UN and with the Declaration of Human Rights, the recitation of prayers from different religions, some group singing, a musical performance, a video show about unity, and the cutting of a birthday cake to mark the occasion.
Baha’is in other parts of Australia and around the world also hosted events to mark the anniversary.
For reports on international celebrations see the Baha’i World News Service.