DESTINY AND DIGNITY

History never repeats itself. Similarities exist because human beings are still like our most distant ancestors.?Our exposure to the world is different, the technology is different, lifespan is different, but love, hate, fear, hunger, largely remain the same.

Even the way historians describing periods of human history have realized the Dark Ages weren’t so dark, the Enlightenment and the Renaissance, Science, revolutions in how information was shared, who was able to access it, but no surprise that humans were progressing.

There have been advances and setbacks. Civilizations have risen and fallen. We humans have often been our own worst enemies. Our primitive-selves are often in conflict with our inquisitive-selves. Our desire for progress and change, constricted by our quest for things to remain recognizable and comfortable.

Technology is making our world easier to live in, but harder to live through.?Most of us do not take our laundry to the river for cleaning, we do not get our water from wells miles away, we do not make our own clothes or even grow and raise our own food.?Life in these respects is easier.?On the other hand, computers, telephones (handheld computers), social media, advanced communications, and extended lifespans have made our lives much more stressful.?Our working lives have been extended, our ability to find a quiet moment is gone, time to process information, think before responding are all things of a lost generation.

The onslaught of information and technology, the speed in which it changes, has left us without the tools we need to adapt. There was time for out bodies and immune systems to morph and combat the severity of the common cold and other ailments, but our brains, as sophisticated as they are, are not designed to be under siege 24 hours every day…all days.

People knew to fear Attila when he crossed into Roman Empire territory. They understood plunder, rape, pillaging, and the destruction he might bring with him. Today, Afghan soldiers lay down their weapons as the Taliban sweep in and are executed, there is no time to react.

For over 200 years Americans experienced peaceful transitions of power from one president to another. On January 6, 2021, that changed and eight months later we are still trying to figure out how, as a nation, we are going to address this transformation.

The great thinkers of the Enlightenment led to democratic, self-government and the American and French Revolutions. Those ideas rest in the minds of women and men around the world, all holding out hope for better lives with governments that will meet their needs and establish a world where human dignity is the top priority.

Human Rights is the guiding light to a world where human dignity can be imagined. It is the foundation and framework for that world. Modern Human Rights was born out of the horrors of World War II, but its elements can be found in the earliest religions and societies, as it was the order people used to navigate people living together in a social order. It remains the best tool for people sharing space with others and finding peace, security, and prosperity.

No matter what religion, political or monetary system a society selects, a human rights framework and foundation enhance and improve the chances for success. When we have transparent and clear benchmarks, when we have a foundation that is solid and firm, we can build the world we want, we can be the change leaders, not the subjects of dictatorial change instituted by others.

Human Rights gives us options, gives us direction, has no prejudice and fosters equality and equity. Human Rights, while stating that all human beings are equal, never equates equality with sameness or equal talents or abilities. Equality is not what you are born with, what you inherit, or what you are able to master. Equality is about how you fit into the society and how you are included by society based on who and what you are, without prejudice.

It does not mean we will all like each other, we will not all be the best of friends, but we will understand if we judge others, we will be judged. If we shun others because of their beliefs, we too will be shunned. How and what we project to the world will come back to us, so it is up to us to put the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on display at all times. This is a lifelong learning effort, as the articles will change as our life experiences grow. Once it becomes a way of life, once it is part of your DNA, the entire world will feel and look differently to you. It is not a panacea, it is work, like preparing great food, like relationships, like important work, good government, staying healthy…none of it is easy, but all of it worth the investment.

As we approach the 75th anniversary of the UDHR and get closer to the mid-21st Century, we recognize these are difficult times. Pandemics, economic crisis, fires, floods, migration of people in the millions, as ravaged a planet as the people who inhabit it, all at the same time and on a global scale not seen before.

We have choices as our ancestors had in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and at the time of the American, French, Russian, and subsequent revolutions. Choices mean the possibility of change and for many change is alarming, scary.?But change will come. No leader can promise a return to the past, the past is not an option.

Moving forward with knowledge with transparency, with confidence and a willingness to work hard gives us a fighting chance to save humanity, the planet, and our social fabric…for us and generations yet to come. It is a choice that we can make, or one that will be made for us.

I hope you will join us and take this leap together, building a world with stability and flexibility of the UDHR and all the human history, good and bad, that went into drafting it all those years ago. This human rights is an outstretched hand welcoming you.

Following is a bit of our plan of action, we look to a brighter future with you. Read the UDHR, make it your own and share it far and wide.

Thank you.

A Pathway to the Future

The 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Committee/12/10/2023

The 100th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Committee/12/10/2048

Securing Inalienable Rights: Putting the people first.

On December 10, 1948, out of the ashes of the Second World War, the United Nations unanimously adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), declaring that all are created equal.?Like all declarations, it was a challenge to the people of the world. It was a call for every woman, man, youth and child to take ownership of their inalienable rights, rights given by God/nature, not by governments.

Over the past 70+ years the dream of the UDHR has gone unrealized with billions of people subjected to the vagaries only humans can subject other humans to. But there have been sparks around the world letting us know that the dream of a better world is very much alive and that it remains available for us to claim.

26 years ago, PDHRE challenged the United Nations to take on the arduous task of the UN Decade of Human Rights Education (1995-2004).?We learned just how difficult it is for people to accept that which is theirs, when their governments refuse them access to information, offering a false security in exchange for freedom.

Today we invite you to join with us as we challenge the status quo. As we start the process of building the world’s largest effort in human existence, making every human being aware of their human rights, their inalienable rights, their gift for being born human.

Please join the Human Rights Mission:

We are building three committees with different responsibilities:

1.??????Working Committee

A.?????Will build the other committees,

B.??????Create and plan local, regional, and global events,

C.??????Establish a network and movement seeking the realization of human rights and human rights principles. The Mission is not focused on violations, but on actualizing the 30 articles for every woman, man, youth, and child on our planet.?These tools will provide the foundation and framework for solving our human and natural crisis facing us today and tomorrow.

2.??????Development Committee

A.?????Will be a group of leaders, individuals, foundations, human focused-corporations, and other entities willing and able to fund the world’s greatest effort at restructuring our world, ensuring that humans will survive, and with our survival, the planets, and other species of plants and animals.?Putting the natural balance back and taking us off the cliff of extinction.

B.??????Our estimation is, to put the UDHR in the hands of every living person, and produce the events and technology needed to do so in a meaningful way, will cost $25 billion over the next 28 years. It will take a human engine as big as the task at hand, but by starting now, it is doable. If we wait, we do so at our own peril.

3.??????Credibility Committee

A.?????A grouping of 1, 948 of the most admired and respected people in the world today who will add their names to the events, activities, efforts, and actions of the Human Rights Mission.

B.??????This will include a Mission Chairperson whose credibility, globally, is unmatched. This individual will kick off the organization’s efforts and put out a call for people from the four corners of the world to join us as the Chair introduces the UDHR and its 30 articles to the world.

I’m asking you to join the working committee. If you agree, please send your contact information so you can be added to our very small list of activists from around the world who will be focused on a true transformation as human dignity becomes front and center, maybe for the first time in the history of humankind.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Robert Kesten

AFTAP/PDHRE

917-520-6382

[email protected]

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Unofficial Summary

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Article 1

All human beings are born free and equal.

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Article 2

Everyone is entitled to the same rights without discrimination of any kind.

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Article 3

Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security.

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Article 4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.

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Article 5

No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel or degrading treatment or punishment.

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Article 6

Everyone has the right to be recognized everywhere as a person before the law.

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Article 7

Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection of the law.

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Article 8

Everyone has the right to justice.

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Article 9

No one shall be arrested, detained, or exiled arbitrarily.

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Article 10

Everyone has the right to a fair trial.

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Article 11

Everyone has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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Article 12

Everyone has the right to privacy.

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Article 13

Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and to leave and return to one's country.

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Article 14

Everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution.

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Article 15

Everyone has the right to a nationality.

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Article 16

All adults have the right to marry and found a family. Women and men have equal rights to marry, within marriage, and at its dissolution.

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Article 17

Everyone has the right to own property.

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Article 18

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

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Article 19

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

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Article 20

Everyone has the right to peaceful assembly and association.

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Article 21

Everyone has the right to take part in government of one's country.

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Article 22

Everyone has the right to social security and to the realization of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for dignity.

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Article 23

Everyone has the right to work, to just conditions of work, to protection against unemployment, to equal pay for equal work, to sufficient pay to ensure a dignified existence for one's self and one's family, and the right to join a trade union.

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Article 24

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure.

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Article 25

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services.

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Article 26

Everyone has the right to education.

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Article 27

Everyone has the right to participate freely in the cultural life of the community.

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Article 28

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which these rights can be realized fully.

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Article 29

Everyone has duties to the community.

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Article 30

No person, group or government has the right to destroy any of these rights.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION or to Participate in the 75th Anniversary Celebrations of the Declaration, contact Robert Kesten at [email protected] or 917-520-6382