Speak Up for Human Rights: The Price of Silence is Much Too High

With Barack Obama poised to take office in January 2009, one of the major lessons his candidacy has offered is that movements are built from individuals taking action. In an effort to rally attention to the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Amnesty International, working in cooperation with Link TV: Television Without Borders, is releasing the international song and video The Price of Silence.

I first saw The Price of Silence at its New York City premiere, which was part of an
evening hosted at the New York Society for Ethical Culture entitled "Every Human Has Rights: Hope for Human Rights in an Era of New Leadership." Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, shared the stage with Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997 - 2002); Dr. Blanche Wiesen Cook, biographer of Eleanor Roosevelt; and Samuel Kofi Woods, Labor Minister of Liberia.

All of the speakers referenced the window of opportunity at hand for the nation and the world to focus on a recommitment to the original tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Robinson said, "We have a moment now. 9/11 was a precursor of difficulty for human rights." She related how "it was quite lonely in those early days," after the Patriot Act went through. "It [Patriot Act] was not an appropriate way to respond to very real threats," she said. Several times Robinson repeated the phrase, "There can be no ambivalence about torture."

Dr. Cook, who has written extensively about Eleanor Roosevelt and spoke on her leadership role in moving the UDHR forward commented, "On November 4th, we stepped off the bitter road to fascism." Challenging the audience she said, "What follows is up to us. It doesn't matter who occupies the White House, it matters who pickets the White House."

Woods, previously imprisoned and banned from employment in his country, pointed to what he termed "the moment of opportunity," moving from "mere declaration to accountability." Robinson crystallized it as "the responsibility of each of us." Cox concurred, "Everybody can do something, and doing it together we can change the world."

It was in that spirit that the creative team behind The Price of Silence galvanized. They drew on the talents of accomplished musicians from around the globe, several of whom have experienced the ordeal of human rights violations. Emmanuel Jal, the rapper from Sudan who was a "child soldier," recorded his track the day after appearing in front of the United Nations General Assembly - to bear witness to the horrific experiences of his youth.

Steven Lawrence, Vice President of Music and Cultural Programming at Link TV, conversed with me about the evolution and production of the video. "It took over three, months," he said. They worked around the availability of the different artists, who all donated their time. They used sixty actors, making five wardrobe changes, to portray the hundreds of UN delegates. Using the "magic of visual effects," they intercut the close-up shots with real footage from the United Nations. "We filmed the opening of the UN in September of '08," Lawrence said, adding, "When people see the video, they assume we took over the UN for a few days!" Creating a "digital General Assembly" and shooting the artists on stage in front of a green screen, the production team hit locations that included Bogotá, Paris, and the Tibet House in New York City.

The vision for the video's concept came from director Joshua Atesh Litle, who sees hip-hop as the protest music of the new generation. The producer, Andres Levin, is a Grammy-nominated artist and the co-founder of Music Has No Enemies, which is based on the premise that "music as an art speaks to everyone." Lawrence stressed, "The most important thing is that the video and music connects billions of people who don't have these rights. By downloading the song [at iTunes, with all net proceeds benefiting Amnesty International], you are supporting human rights."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations on December 10th, 1948. World War II was the catalyst. The aim was to create a doctrine that would guide the international community on how to achieve political, social, economic, civil, and cultural human rights. It was a two-year process, and Eleanor Roosevelt was instrumental in its drafting, later serving as the first chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. She called the Declaration "the international Magna Carta of all mankind."

Which brings us full circle to the present. Amnesty International USA has requested a meeting with Obama to discuss the human rights agenda of his new administration. In the first 100 days, they have called for a plan and date for the closure of Guantánamo, an executive order to ban torture as defined under international law, and an independent commission to investigate abuses committed by the United States in its "war on terror."

When I spoke to Cox by telephone to ask him what he would like to see The Price of Silence accomplish he said, "I hope the video will help spark a large movement to take action and to mobilize people."

Poet Alicia Partnoy, who survived two years in prison during Argentina's Dirty War (where 30,000 Argentineans "disappeared"), contributed the prologue delivered by actor Laurence Fishburne at the beginning of the video. She wrote:

Listen:

These are not just words tattooed on paper

No prison cell, no border fence, no torture will stop our plea

No stone, no stain will mar the river of our dignity

My child, for you today our voice befriends the winds-

Listen....

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Comments

[RaisingAwareness]

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is mankind's hope and security but only so long as we adhere to it's tenets. If we do, we all have one beautiful future ahead of us.

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

[indiex]

would have loved to see/hear voices from iraq, palestine, afghanistan. why are they missing ?

[eileenflemingWAWA]

2008 is the 60th Anniversary of Israel, Nakba and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Since This is almost Christmas;

I ask YOU what have YOU have done-or left undone- to Honor, Commemorate and Uphold any of the above?

My humble attempt is on You Tube and i IMAGINE a Sisterhood of Man inspired by John Lennon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-sQhXClFBM&eurl=http://www.wearewideawak...

"The struggle is in the mind. We must bury our own monsters and stop condemning people. We are all Christ and Hitler. We want Christ to win. We're trying to make Christ's message contemporary. What would he have done if he had advertisements, records, films, TV and newspapers! Christ made miracles to tell his message. Well, the miracle today is communications, so let's use it."-John Lennon

Eileen Fleming, Author, Founder WAWA:
http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Producer "30 Minutes With Vanunu" and "13 Minutes with Vanunu"

[Stirner]

In 1789 the revolutionary French government set forth the "Rights of Man and Citizen" in 17 brief statements. This has had its effect the first major effect being our own "Bill of Rights" The schema then re-emerged as an international projection in the form of the UDHR. If we were to take the time to read how this final view of the claims of human nature in the face of raw nature has developed from 1789, Alexander Kojeve's work, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE READING OF HEGEL might be helpful. Certainly not an easy read, but worth the effort. This work sets forth how the fusion of these "Universal Rights" (recognition of each by all) along with the irresistible advance of universal (global) technology, such as the internet, etc.) is radically and finally transforming our planet into OUR planet. We are indeed at the end of history. What is to be done when all is accomplished will be a problem for a later generation. A world without problems is itself a problem, as trivial pursuits and boredom have already began to weaken character among the most democratic and technlogically advanced groups.

[schatsie]

We all came from the earth, our daily bread comes from the earth, and we all return to the earth...

And yet 30 thousand children die each and every day and that is about 10 million children per year..and there are 10 million grieft sticken parents EVERY YEAR and this is from preventable deaths and we 'wonder' why there is violence against the 'developed' countries while we spend money talking to them about ABSTINENCE...

Thank Barack that this era of Patronization by the pampered and privileged is ended!!! He is going to have his hands full and his wife as well....