A Plan for our Human Family
We the people of our international community, our human family, declare that there are certain fundamental rights that are inherent in every human being, that they are unalienable for all people in all countries, and they are enforceable in the courts of all countries:
Unlike a painting that might be best done by one person, an International Bill of Rights (IBOR) is better written by many people from a broad range of backgrounds and professions.
Thank you for making a general comment on the IBOR document here, or you can make a comment on any of the specific Articles below.
March 15, 2020
Long before her work on the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, Eleanor was a strong proponent for the League of Nations. The idea that law could limit tyrants was core in her work on human rights. A Bill of Rights is the people’s agreement to live together, and the rules for those who govern in exchange for giving them the power to govern. It’s been a long evolution that needs to continue.
As Rousseau said in 1762, “it is the people who make the machine, the Prince merely operates it.”
But how do the people insure that the machine they build will not be dismantled by those who rise to power? The best way to keep control over the machine is to put the operations in writing, and then have independent judges oversee the operation.
The story being told by Eleanor, Renee Cassin, John Humphrey and others after World War II was that there are some things that those in power can never do, and that we were going to construct an international structure of rights based upon the rule of law, with courts to enforce it, to make sure that this is so.
This is why, at the closing ceremony after the United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco, President Truman told the packed War Memorial Opera House that the first thing the new United Nations was going to do is prepare an International Bill of Rights, adding “That bill of rights will be as much a part of international life as our own Bill of Rights is a part of our Constitution.”
This started to happen with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but it stalled. The UDHR is not a Bill of Rights. It is not enforceable. The twin Covenants on Civil and Political and Economic and Social Rights are not Bills of Rights either. They too are not enforceable in courts. That is why it is time to revive President Truman’s call and Eleanor Roosevelt’s work by drafting an International Bill of Rights that is designed to be enforceable in the courts of all countries.
By becoming a spark of light for rights you can show your support for Eleanor’s vision of an International Bill of Rights. This is a key issue in the marketplace of ideas for the 21st century. Please make a comment on our draft International Bill of Rights – help right the manual for the machine, our social order, and those who operate it.
Thanks for using your power to write the rules that govern you. As Eleanor understood, the rules in an International Bill of Rights shape your life from the moment you awake to how well you sleep at night.
Mach 8, 2020
Eleanor Roosevelt wrote at least 500 words for her My Day newspaper column six days a week, with few interruptions, for nearly 26 years (1936 – 1962). She was the first Blogger. This blog you are reading is only 300 words, and I can barely finish one a week when she did six.
The name of her column was “My Day.” She gave her thoughts on the domestic and international events of the day. The purpose of this blog is to reflect on the events of the day, family or international, as she did, and ask “What would Eleanor say?”
And let me be clear, I don’t always know what Eleanor would say. I try to channel her because I admire her and think she was one of the great leaders of the 20th century. She truly wanted a world that works for all, not this country or that country or this religion and not that one. We will do well to think about “what would she say,” even if we do not know precisely, we may be inspired by her thinking.
Eleanor often wrote about family and I will too. From the micro family to the human family. It’s fitting that the Eleanor Lives! website went live on March 7, 2020, my mother’s birthday, Betsy Roberts, a school teacher. The memories of those we love can help us look back to see our way forward. Often it’s the great women in families that pull us together.
It’s also fitting the the actual launch day of Eleanor Lives! is March 8, 2020, International Women’s Day. Eleanor was a strong advocate for women’s rights. Eleanor Lives! is a success every time we rekindle memories people still have of Eleanor, or we teach young people about a visionary role model.
It’s a challenge within one’s own family and the human family to meet the needs of everyone. It helps to have love and a plan – two reoccurring aspects of Eleanor’s life. This photo, our logo, captures what Eleanor felt was her most important accomplishment, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
She hoped, as is anticipated in Article 28 of the document, that there would be future documents to make the rights in the UDHR fully realized for people in all countries. To achieve this, we offer a draft International Bill of Rights on this website that everyone can work on together. It includes a framework for courts that can make rights truly enforceable.
Eleanor said “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” She believed in her dreams, let’s make the future hers. First Lady for the world.
Thank you, Eleanor, and you, readers and signers.
Eleanor Lives!
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