10 December 2011 -- On this day in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has become a universal standard for defending and promoting human rights. Every year on 10 December, Human Rights Day marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration. It is celebrated around the globe that "All human beings are born with equal and inalienable rights and fundamental freedoms".
This year thousands of people decided the time had come to claim their rights. They took to the streets and demanded change. Many found their voices using the internet and instant messaging to inform, inspire and mobilise supporters to seek their basic human rights.
Social media helped activists organise peaceful protest movements in cities across the globe—in Tunis, in Cairo, in Madrid, in New York, and in cities and towns across the globe—at times in the face of violent repression.
It has been a year like no other for human rights. Human rights activism has never been more topical or more vital. And through the transforming power of social media, ordinary people have become human rights activists.
Human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values. As a global community we all share a day in common: Human Rights Day on 10 December, when we remember the creation 63 years ago of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
On Human Rights Day 2011 we pay tribute to all human rights defenders and ask you to get involved in the global human rights movement.
Source: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Imagine if everyone in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx suddenly lost the right to vote. That's about the number of people — 5 million and counting — affected by changes already adopted or currently pending in state legislatures around the country. When all is said and done, millions more could lose the right to vote.
On Saturday, December 10 — Human Rights Day — more than 100 civil, labor, and human rights organizations from across the country — including the New York Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU — will take a “Stand for Freedom” in New York City to protest the attack on voting rights. The march and rally will begin at the Manhattan headquarters of leading voter suppression funders, the Koch brothers, and will conclude outside the United Nations.
This year, legislatures in 34 states were pressed to pass laws that would undermine voting rights. Fourteen states have passed such laws. Early voting, Sunday voting and same-day registration are under attack. Unfair restrictions on the formerly incarcerated will strike tens of thousands from the voting rolls. Photo ID requirements represent the greatest barrier to voting since the poll tax.
More than a century ago, extremists attacked voting rights to help establish segregation. Now they’re attempting to suppress voter turnout among groups that typically cast ballots in favor of social justice and civil rights. This tightly coordinated effort targets the voting rights of the elderly, the poor, students and people of color.
Myths about widespread voter fraud are used to justify barriers to voting, but study after study has shown that voter fraud is extremely rare. The limited fraud that occurs typically involves absentee ballots, which photo ID requirement do not address. It is important to protect the integrity of the election process, but not at the cost of disenfranchising eligible voters.
(The infamous NY City Councilman, Charles Barron)
Saturday’s march will assemble at 10 a.m. at 61st Street and Madison Avenue, near the Koch brothers Manhattan offices. Starting at 11 a.m., we will march to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (47th Street and 2nd Avenue) for a noon rally.
Come march with ACLU Executive Director, Anthony Romero. The right to vote is at the heart of our democracy. Help us protect it.
150+ Rights Groups Rally To Protect Minority Voting Rights on Dec. 10, UN Human Rights Day
Several thousand protesters are expected to attend the Stand for Freedom March and Rally in New York City on Saturday, December 10, the United Nations Human Rights Day. The Rally will be led by a coalition of over 150 civil rights and community organizations in response to the recent national sweep of proposed voter identification laws that are likely to disenfranchise voters of color.
MinKwon Center excerpt from mission statement, "Our goals are to educate community members about issues that are impacting immigrant communities, including the Korean American community; to increase Korean American civic participation and to promote immigrant rights through long-term organizing, advocacy and education programs; to serve the marginalized members of our community through various social service programs; and to preserve our cultural roots by involving members of our community in projects that promote our ethnic and cultural heritage."
"After monitoring elections for over two decades, we have seen how Asian Americans are disenfranchised by voter identification laws, anti-Asian bias at poll sites, and poor enforcement of the Voting Rights Act's language assistance provisions," said Margaret Fung, Executive Director of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). "At a time when Asian Americans are more politically engaged than ever, we need to ensure that all Americans, especially new citizens, are able to exercise their fundamental right to vote."
Fung will join NAACP President Ben Jealous, 1199SEIU President George Gresham, NAACP LDF President John Payton, American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Executive Director Barbara Arnwine, and other civil rights leaders in a press conference before the march and rally on Saturday at 10:30am.
The march will begin at 61st Street and Madison Avenue at the NYC headquarters of Koch Industries and culminate in a rally across from the United Nations. Busloads of protestors from Maryland, Rochester, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut, Buffalo, and several other places are expected to join.
"We hope New Yorkers will join us in standing up for freedom on Dec. 10," said Fung. "If these proposals are not defeated, Asian Americans and other communities of color will face new discriminatory obstacles to voting."
STAND FOR FREEDOM MARCH TO PROTECT MINORITY VOTING RIGHTS
DATE: Saturday, December 10, 2011
TIME: Press Conference begins at 10:30am
WHERE: 61st Street and Madison Avenue
SPEAKERS: Benjamin Jealous, President and CEO, National NAACP
George Gresham, President, 1199SEIU
U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel
Rev. Al Sharpton, Civil Rights Activist/Founder of National Action Network
Margaret Fung, Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund
John Payton, President, NAACP LDF
Michael Mulgrew, President, United Federation of Teachers
Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, President of the NAACP New York State Conference
Marc Morial, President, National Urban League
Judith A. Browne Dianis, Co-Director, The Advancement Project
Anthony Romero, Executive Director, ACLU
Barbara Arnwine, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director, Center for Community Change
Lillian RodrÃguez López, Executive Director, Hispanic Federation
Melanie Campbell, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
Chung-Wha Hong, Exec. Director, The New York Immigration Coalition
http://aaldef.org/press-releases/press-release/150-rights-groups-rally-to-protect-minority-voting-rights-on-dec-10-un-human-rights-day.html
http://beyondoccupy.blogspot.com/2011/12/5-million-and-counting-rally-dec-10-to.html
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