High Commissioner of Conscience

Mary Robinson reminds the Commencement audience that 'we are all custodians of human rights'

Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, was Commencement Speaker at last Thursday's rites. Her remarks, as distributed by her press office, were as follows:

It is a great pleasure to be invited today to share this happy occasion, not only with the members of the graduating class of 1998, but also with the families and friends who have no doubt supported you along the way with their kind words of advice and encouragement. I remember sitting where you are now, as part of the class of 1968. I still remember how uncertain and insecure I felt but how proud my father was on the day. Your families and your professors are rightfully proud of your achievements and they are delighted to see you graduate with futures so bright with promise.

I too am proud. I am proud to see so many capable young men and women about to embark on a future career where they can put their years of learning and preparation to good use. Having passed through the rigors of a formal education, you are now ready to assume new responsibilities and tasks, becoming answerable only to yourselves with regards to your performance, your humanity, and your soundness of judgment, in a world full of possibilities.

But I would ask you to remember that it is not a world full of possibilities for all. Each of you has been the beneficiary of a rare privilege. You have received an exceptional education at an exceptional place when there are many, in both your country and mine, and in many, many other parts of the world, who are just as innately talented and just as ambitious as you are but will never have such an opportunity. I say this not to make you feel guilty. You should be proud of what you have achieved. But I do ask that you use your education to pursue only the worthiest of goals; goals that contribute to the betterment of the lives of others; and goals that give you personal satisfaction because of their contribution to the society we live in.

1998 is an important year for goals and an important year for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. It is a year when we mark the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. You will notice that I do not use the word "celebrate." It is a year when we reaffirm our commitment to work for change and to demonstrate that the principles of the U.N. Charter and the Universal Declaration are not too theoretical, nor too abstract. We must all set ourselves the goal of giving such principles practical effect and the success of our efforts can only be measured by the improved well-being of individuals around the world.

The Universal Declaration was the first international agreement aimed at the improvement of all human rights for all people. It was a document shaped and generated to a large extent by the vision of a truly inspiring woman from the United States. A woman who had committed her life to worthy goals and who, although extremely shy, made herself a powerful voice on behalf of a wide range of social causes, not least the cause of improving the treatment of women. The woman was, of course, Eleanor Roosevelt who, as the U.S. representative to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights and later its Chairperson, was largely responsible for the Universal Declaration.

Unlike the other members of the Commission, Mrs. Roosevelt was neither a scholar nor an expert on international law. She was not an academic and she was not a jurist, but what she did have was an incredible sense of commitment and compassion. She saw herself as an ambassador for the common man and woman, and her enthusiasm for this goal, combined with her humanitarian convictions, resulted in a Declaration that was direct and straightforward, and a Declaration that has endured as a universally accepted standard of achievement for all people and all nations.

Fifty years ago was of course "no ordinary time." The devastation of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust made nations more willing to commit to a universal standard of human rights protections. But in times such as these, when we have become concerned about a lack of sufficient will, it is also worth remembering that throughout the war period, Eleanor Roosevelt worked tirelessly for the human rights of the ordinary men and women in America, reminding us that no matter how hard the going gets, we must not sacrifice human rights for other goals.

For Mrs. Roosevelt, all human rights were universal since every man, woman, and child sought equal justice, equal opportunity, and equal dignity without discrimination. But if rights did not have meaning locally, in the factory, farm, or office, Mrs. Roosevelt thought they would have little meaning elsewhere, and she warned that: "Without concerned citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain at progress in the larger world."

The Declaration's 50th anniversary is an ideal time to assess whether we are upholding human rights close to home as well as further afield. As part of the follow-up to the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights of 1993, the U.N. system and its member-states are undergoing a yearlong assessment of its successes and shortcomings with respect to the protection of human rights. Human rights organizations and concerned individuals play an important role in that assessment: encouraging discussion and debate on the continuing relevance of international human rights standards and pointing to areas of imbalance in protection.

One such area is the promotion at the international level of economic, social, and cultural rights and the right to development. Extreme poverty, illiteracy, homelessness, and the vulnerability of children to exploitation are all areas requiring a greater effort. Economic and social rights are surely interdependent with civil and political rights.

As High Commissioner for Human Rights, I draw strength from being part of this broader human rights community, a community which encompasses both organizations and individuals, and which represents all cultures, traditions, and backgrounds. I ask you to join the efforts of the human rights community by committing yourselves to the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration, the opening lines of which recognize the inherent dignity and equality of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world. I also urge you to take part in the human rights debate so that through informed and purposeful discussion we can achieve a greater understanding of how the rights enshrined in the Declaration can be implemented at both the local and international level.

The motto of the 50th anniversary, "All human rights for all," expresses what we must commit ourselves to achieving in the years ahead. It is evident that in many parts of the world, there is little cause for celebration. At the end of January, while in Cambodia, I visited a shelter in Phnom Penh for women who had been victims of trafficking for the sex trade. I listened to a 15-year-old girl who explained, through an interpreter, that friends of her family had driven her to the city as she thought to take up a job in a clothing factory. Instead, she was forced in the door of a sex brothel where she was beaten until she complied for 16 or 17 hours a day with what was required of her. She managed to escape after three months and was trying to rebuild her sense of herself. As I looked into her eyes I was aware that she was not alone in her misery; that millions of children and women, worldwide, endure a similar fate. Rights for too many remain little more than words on paper. However, I do believe that we should commit ourselves to focusing on the future, reinvigorating the common will and commitment of the international community to ensuring the enjoyment of human rights by people everywhere. We are all the custodians of human rights and we must all find our own way to do what is required.

It seems fitting, somehow, that I should remind you of some lines of Seamus Heaney's poem "From the Republic of Conscience":

...you carried what you had to and very soon

your symptoms of creeping privilege disappeared...

...I came back from that frugal republic

with my two arms the one length, the customs woman

having insisted my allowance was myself.

The old man rose and gazed into my face

and said that was official recognition

that I was now a dual citizen.

Their embassies, he said, were everywhere

but operated independently

and no ambassador would ever be relieved.

You who graduate today can do much to contribute to the betterment of society. You can become interested and involved in the world around you. By virtue of your education, you can offer society the benefit of your focused knowledge, as well as a wider vision and a great sense of purpose. You also have the skills to teach others to be more tolerant, more understanding, and more caring, and I am confident that your recognition of this special responsibility will guide your actions and, perhaps one day, inspire a future Eleanor Roosevelt.

I wish each of you much happiness and success in the years ahead. May your memories of Harvard and the friends you have made here be with you always.

Congratulations and good luck!