Washington, D.C. (December 10, 2007) - Washington, D.C. (December 10, 2007). Members of the Hindu American Foundation, perhaps one of the highest profile international Hindu human rights groups, issued a call today to all nations to commemorate Human Rights Day, celebrated annually on December 10. The foundation asked leaders around the world to recognize the day as an important and public acknowledgement by the peoples of the world on the fundamental nature of human rights, and the need for all states, communities, religions, and organizations to affirm and abide by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html).
The annual event celebrates the adoption of the UDHR by the United Nations General Assembly in 1950, as the first internationally approved document recognizing the fundamentals of global human rights. At the United Nations (UN), the day is marked by political conferences and meetings, as well as cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues.
"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an ideal--a concept--whose relevance today is wholly predicated on how nations abide to its spirit, and on how we as global citizens insist on its significance," said Aseem Shukla, M.D., member of the HAF Board of Directors. "At the HAF, we see December 10 as another opportunity to focus the attention of the world on human rights infractions and atrocities targeting Hindus that are ongoing right now in too many parts of the world."
While the HAF is renowned in the United States for its annual release of the only comprehensive Hindu human rights report that this year included ten countries, the foundation is in the news today for its mobilization of international support for Hindus in Malaysia. The foundation reported this year that creeping Islamization of every level of the Malaysian government ensures second-class citizenship for non-Muslims. Last month, the Malaysian government destroyed a famous Hindu temples while worshipers were still inside and harshly crushed a peaceful rally of 30,000 Hindus arresting their leaders after they announced they were marching to bring attention to their human rights grievances.
"Unfortunately today, too many nations offer outrageous ideological and religious reasons to flout their violations of the letter and spirit of the UDHR--the most recent events in Malaysia are only the most recent example," said Ramesh Rao, Senior Fellow at the HAF. "Nations falls short of the Declaration when they trample upon human rights--whether Malaysia or nations that have been designated as "countries of particular concern" by the U.S. State Department, such as Pakistan."
HAF published the 2006 Hindu Human Rights Report in July this year.