UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights

UN Commemorative Stamp. This and a good army will get your rights respected.

Someone once asked Gandhi whether he thought Christianity was a good idea. “Very good,” he answered. “Someone should try it.”

Similarly, the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not a bad document. Not perfect, but not bad. The trick is to get governments to actually honour it.

Starting with our own.

For example:

Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person under the law.

The governments of Canada and the US do not recognize children in the womb as persons, and hence do not honour their right to life. You might say this is just a matter of how you define “persons.” If so, this article has no meaning—it means whatever you want it to mean. It would be just as easy to define “person” not to include Jews. A human is a person; full stop.

Article 7: All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration

This is obviously violated by “Affirmative Action” policies. Note that the Universal Declaration begins by saying all people are equal, and says it in precisely correct terms: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” This has nothing to do with the obviously mad idea that all persons are born equally intelligent and with equal abilities in every respect. Guaranteeing equal results assumes the latter sort of equality, and necessarily violates the former equality. To enforce equality of results, one must enforce inequality of rights.

Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

This has been violated by the Canadian Human Rights panels, which are neither independent nor impartial, and are not bound to observe due process. More generally, this is subverted by the growing tendency towards government by regulation rather than law.

Article 16: Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

Current Canadian and US marriage law heavily favours women in marriage, especially at the marriage’s dissolution. Neither do men have equal rights within marriage to decide whether to stay at home or to go to work, or to have children or not have children. Note too that there is nothing here that justifies gay marriage. It may be a sensible policy, but it is certainly not a human right.

Article 16: The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Eleanor Roosevelt with the Declaration: still news to most.

It is hard to see any evidence of this protection in Canadian or US society or by the Canadian or US state. Government policies seem instead designed, in many ways, to subvert it. To cite one example, poor women have every financial incentive not to marry poor men; the state will reward them for having children while remaining single. There is generally a tax penalty for filing as a married couple.

Article 20: Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

Freedom of association is violated by government requirements preventing business owners and landlords from freedom of choice in renting, hiring, and serving. This means they must associate with whomever the government tells them to, not whom they choose to associate with.

Yes, this even means that, if a business decides it does not want to hire women, or serve blacks, it properly has the absolute right to do so. Nor would this be a problem. So long as the government keeps out, the free market would in fact prevent this discrimination from harming minorities. If business A will not hire blacks, business B suddenly has a competitive advantage by not discriminating—it will get a better workforce at a lower cost.

Discrimination can only endure, and has only endured anywhere, when it has government backing. As it does today in Canada and the USA.

Article 20: No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

This is immediately violated by any closed union shop, and by any professional association that is tied to certification.

Article 23: Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, …

Again, this is violated by affirmative action, closed union shops, and professional associations with obligatory certification procedures.

Article 26: Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

This is violated by compulsory attendance at and financial support of public schools; and government restrictions on the curriculum or hiring practices of private schools.

More on this tomorrow, time permitting…