60th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

UDHR, foundation of freedom, justice, peace in world - President

On this day sixty years ago the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which recognized the equal and inalienable dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family, being the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, states President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a message to mark the 60th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which falls today.

"Through the past six decades as membership in the United Nations expanded with the end of the colonial era, Second World War, the declaration reflects humanity's aspirations for a future of prosperity, dignity and peaceful co-existence.

"Its adoption was a landmark. Today, the Declaration remains a core part of the United Nations' very identity."

"The challenges we face today are as daunting as those that confronted the Declaration's drafters."

We face a food emergency and a global financial crisis. Humankind's assault on the natural environment continues. There is political repression in too many countries."

"And, as ever, the most vulnerable continue to be on the frontlines of hardship and abuse.

The luckiest among us, those who are spared the most negative effects of disaster, poverty or instability, cannot turn a blind eye.

The cascading effects of abuse and indifference can eventually engulf the entire planet. Rights, and especially their violation, must hold the whole world in solidarity."

"On this Human Rights Day, it is my hope that we will all act on our collective responsibility to uphold the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration."

"We can only honour the towering vision of that inspiring document when its principles are fully applied everywhere, for everyone."

President issues stamp to commemorate Int'l Human Rights Day

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will issue a commemorative stamp today at the Temple Trees at 4.30 pm to mark the International Human Rights Day (December 10) and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

The Human Rights Day theme for 2008, "Dignity and justice for all of us," reinforces the vision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a commitment to universal dignity and justice, according to the United Nations.

Since the declaration's adoption in 1948, it has been and continues to be a source of inspiration for national and international efforts to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.