|
|
Eleanor Roosevelt: Soul Type 5 (Understanding)
When a person truly speaks from their soul what s/he says or does is completely selfless, resulting in clear benefits for everyone. This looks different for each soul type. Soul type 5, for example, can create a climate in which people can look to their own experience and discover ways to navigate the uncharted, possibly dangerous waters of the future using more than just their instincts and emotions. Though instincts and emotions are understandably important, they are not enough to help us organize a complex society so that it effectively serves all its members.
In 1946 Eleanor Roosevelt was appointed as a delegate to the United Nations by President Harry Truman. She protested that she was not qualified but he convinced her to take the position anyway. Her fellow delegates agreed and she was put on what they considered the least interesting committee, the Human Rights Commission. She quickly proved her worth and was appointed chairperson of the committee. Her selfless devotion to the rights of all human beings enabled her to guide the committee over a period of two years to create what became the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that was accepted by the Member States without a dissenting vote.
This document became the primary international articulation of the fundamental and inalienable rights of all members of the human family, and the first comprehensive agreement among nations as to the specific rights and freedoms of all human beings. It was a revolutionary document that became one of the the cornerstones of the United Nations. Prior to this declaration, most of the governments of the Member States did not recognize or uphold fundamental human rights and freedoms.
The following story comes from:
Meet Eleanor Roosevelt A one-woman theatre piece performed by Elena Dodd
Researched and written by Josephine Lane and Elena Dodd
The name of Eleanor Roosevelt has become almost synonymous with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Appointed as a United Nations delegate in 1946, Mrs. Roosevelt became a member of the U.N. Human Rights Commission the following year, was elected its chairwoman, and settled down to the challenge of creating a Human Rights Charter--a task which is still in process, fifty years later. Nevertheless, by practicing the "art of the possible" Eleanor Roosevelt achieved a triumph. She steered the Commission toward the drafting of a Declaration, or bill of rights, as a preamble to the Charter, to be followed by a Covenant, which would require a commitment to enforcing these rights. The resulting document outlines basic human rights and responsibilities and was adopted by the General Assembly in 1948. (Since then two Covenants have been added. The United States has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and signed but not ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.)
We can picture Mrs. Roosevelt addressing her task--in Geneva, New York and Paris: presiding over long, grueling sessions; apologizing for arriving five minutes late; disciplining longwinded speakers; despairing when it seemed the Commission would have to traverse the same ground all over again because a new delegate had joined the group; negotiating the cultural and ideological differences represented by members from China, Lebanon, Soviet Russia, Australia. She had to moderate an intense dialogue, surrounded by a swarm of translators, policy advisors, and secretaries. Occasionally she took over the French translation herself.
The job was finally over when the Declaration was approved by the General Assembly at 4 AM, December 10, 1948. Eleanor Roosevelt considered it a flawed success. She had hoped for a document so short and simple as to be easily memorized by people everywhere, but although the document preserves a direct, accessible style, it was several pages long, containing thirty articles. Mrs. Roosevelt also sought unanimous approval. In the final voting, several countries abstained, including the Communist bloc, but this in itself was an enormous tribute to her work, as the Soviet delegates had probably been instructed to vote NO. Forty-eight nations voted YES; there were eight abstentions (Byelorussian SSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian SSR, Union of South Africa, USSR, Yugoslavia) and no dissenting votes. It was the first international statement on human rights in the history of the world. Almost two generations later the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stands as an inspiring statement which has achieved the force of law in the eyes of the world.
Copyright © 2000 Alan Sheets and Barbara Tovey