ATAA Commemorates 64th International Human Rights Day
Washington, December 11 (AZERTAC). Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) released a statement marking the 64th International Human Rights Day and urging the international community to exert pressure on Armenia which violates the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan Republic and has extensively violated human rights of nearly one million refugees.
In the statement, ATAA leadership quoted the former First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt who declared before the United Nations General Assembly in 1948: “This Universal Declaration of Human Rights may well become the international Magna Carta of all men everywhere." A few minutes prior to that speech, the U.N. General Assembly had proclaimed UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, starting with a preamble "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world," and ending with an International Law "as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations."
Every individual and every organ of society was to strive to teach and promote respect for human rights and freedoms. Progressive measures were to be taken to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance. Were all those wonderful things listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights actually implemented?
While it is without doubt that the world is progressively a better place because of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since 1948, and getting better daily, it is unfortunately not possible to say all is well today. It is with sadness in our hearts that we observe many violations of the most basic human rights around the world.
United for Human Rights (UHR) an international, not-for-profit organization, quoting "Amnesty International`s 2009 World Report and other sources" state that individuals are tortured or abused in at least 81 countries, face unfair trials in at least 54 countries, and are restricted in their freedom of expression in at least 77 countries. Whereas every country, including the U.S. has its share of such abuses, some countries are by far the worst offenders in the world with systematic and persistent violations. Topping the list is Armenia. Ignoring many U.N. Resolutions since 1994, condemning Armenia`s aggression and military occupation of sovereign Azerbaijani soil, i.e. Karabagh and the seven provinces surrounding it, Armenia continue to thumb its nose, so to speak, at the international community. About a million Azerbaijani refugees, expelled from their homes at gunpoint during Armenia`s aggression of 1992-1994, by Armenian irregulars and thugs, supported by Armenian regulars, Russian "advisors" and weaponry, brave their 19th freezing winter with little food or medicine, living in temporary accommodations in squalor. (Now, Armenia`s mouthpiece in the U.S. Congress wants the U.S. Humanitarian Aid to Azeri victims should be discontinued! Talk about hypocrisy, ethno-religious discriminations, racism, dishonesty, and cruelty.) The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) calls upon the United Nations and the European Union to exert pressure on the government of Armenia to break the deadlock in peace talks created by Armenia and allow the return of a million Azeri refugees to their homes. ATAA also calls upon the U.S. Congress to oppose ill-advised resolutions, mostly sponsored by Adam Schiff and other blind supporters of the racist and dishonest Armenian propaganda cultivating hate, vengeance, and aggression.
The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) joins human rights advocates worldwide in commemorating the 64th anniversary of Human Rights and reiterates ATAA`s dedication to implementation of human rights everywhere around the globe.
Yusif Babanli
Special correspondent of AZERTAC
Other news in this section
