Mission Statement

Preamble

The horrors of the two world wars, including the Holocaust, gave rise to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and a world reaction saying, “Never Again!” The Declaration was drafted by John Peters Humphrey, a native of Hampton, NB, Dean of McGill University’s Faculty of Law and the first Director of the United Nation’s Human Rights Commission and was referred to by Eleanor Roosevelt as the international Magna Carta of all mankind.

Mission Statement

We believe that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, is a major milestone in the history of humankind, one considered to be that body’s most significant achievement.

Unfortunately, universal human rights are still far from being universal, as there are still issues, of varying magnitudes, that affect, e.g., women, children, members of LGBT communities, minorities and original populations all over the world, that all still need to be addressed.

Universal human rights have been under attack from several fronts, including but not exclusively due to the strengthening of theocratic rule around the world and by an encroachment of theocratic principles into Western societies and the lack of response from Western governments against it.

Theocracy is inherently oppressive and contrary to universal human rights as it regards a deity as the sovereign and source of law. It therefore places the coercive power of the state–including interpretation and enforcement of the law–in the hands of believers. It excludes non-believers from the body politic and brings them suffering.

Major goal

We endeavour to educate ourselves, our children and the society we live in on the above, and to contribute to a better and more secure environment. For that purpose, we will organize public activities, such as invited lectures and screening of documentaries.

Specific issues

Some issues of concern are:

• The meaning of and misuse of words such as Freedom, Rights, Justice, Apartheid, Slander/Defamation, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion.
• The Intolerance of Specific Religious/Culture Beliefs.
• The need for Holocaust education and other acts of ethnic cleansing:
• We call on the New Brunswick Minister of Education to expand on the existing Holocaust education and to include its precursor: the ethnic cleansing of Armenians and Pontian Greeks. Also, to include the more recent and under reported “Residential School” abuses of native populations, which are also by legal definition ethnic cleansing. We also seek public awareness of the ongoing ethnic cleansing of indigenous Christians of the Middle East and Africa.
• The theocratic treatment of women, LGBT and other minorities (e.g., Baha’i, Ahmadi).
• Peace for all Nations.
• Ethics of International Leaders.
• War and conflict, including the abuse of children in conflict.
• Slavery.

We see the importance of working collaboratively with others (individuals/groups) who may be dealing with similar issues seeking to organize public activities.