The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UNDHR) was formed after WWII in the beginning stages of the United Nations. The text of the UNDHR is now widely regarded as customary international law, meaning that (unlike other international law treaties and covenants) countries are automatically expected to abide by its terms, and countries can be held accountable for violations of those terms. The UNDHR was written in order to prevent future atrocities like what happened during WWII, and it was a direct reaction of the international community to the horrors of the Holocaust. In short, the UNDHR was a work of faith – faith that if something is done, progress can be made, and society can change to be a better place for all.

Human rights should not be about political ideologies or agendas. If you believe in human rights, you believe in the protection of the rights outlined in the UNDHR. The idea is simple but, of course, the practice of that idea is what becomes tricky.

America is generally regarded as a two-party system (Democrat and Republican), and you all know the differences in ideas and practice between the two parties. Now, imagine the United Nations – which is an organization much younger than the United States of America – trying to write, implement, and enforce a constitution with over 60 different countries and thousands of expressed opinions. The breadth of such an organization is massive, therefore making the problems within it, and the problems addressed by it, on an even larger scale. The United Nations, while deserving of much of its criticism, is in desperate need of reform. However, the UN is only as good as the countries that participate in it; and the UNDHR is only as productive as the people who abide by it.

Confidence in the international legal process takes a lot of faith. Faith is something I learned first and foremost from my Christian background, and to this day, I am continually amazed at how religion and human rights interact. Communities of faith play a particularly integrative role in human rights circles, because violations of human rights go directly against the main tenets of many religions. However, it is often in the name of religion that many human rights violations are committed. How can both situations exist simultaneously? How can someone, supposedly acting in the name of a loving God, kill, rape, or otherwise violate and discriminate against a fellow human being?

These are questions we do not have answers for, and yet many of the possible answers would only seem to create new sets of problems. Where is the hope?

I have to place my hope in cooperation and recognition of the needs of people all over the world. I also hold onto a steadfast faith in the inherent good in people, and the principles set out in the UNDHR keeps this hope alive. The resiliency of the human spirit continuously inspires and amazes me, and it is this spirit that bonds us as humans – regardless of religion. Rational thought