It is my pleasure to commemorate the international Human Rights Day 2009, which this year focuses on the theme: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and in rights”.
Those few words form the very first sentence of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and are, in essence, the cornerstone of the modern democratic world order. But what do they mean? Why did the drafters of the Universal Declaration put them there? Why are they so important?
To answer these questions, we need look no further than our own beautiful homeland. To understand the power of the idea that all of us are born free and equal, we need only consider our own recent history.
For too long the Maldives has been a country divided. I do not talk about those natural divisions forced on us by our geography, or even the division between urban and rural communities. I talk rather of the deep divisions of birth and opportunity that have kept our society fragmented, to the benefit of the few at the expense of the many.
For too long our society has accepted the shameful truth that the future of a child born in the Maldives does not rest on his or her ability or intelligence, nor on how hard he or she works; but rather on who the child’s father is, whether the family is politically connected, and whether the family can afford to send the child abroad to study.
What is more, we have been willingly blind to the injustices of a status quo in which a girl is refused the same opportunities as a boy, in which a poor islander will not be treated the same as a rich Male’ resident, or in which a disabled child will grow up facing the daily ordeals of discrimination and prejudice.
The real power and significance of the words “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and in rights”, and the concepts of equality and non-discrimination which underpin them, is to remind us all that it is not normal for society to accept these daily injustices; it is not normal for a child’s promise to be limited by birth rather than by talent; it is not normal or unavoidable that our proud country has not had a female head of state for over 600 years; and it is not normal that only 5 of 77 Members of Parliament are women.
The ideals of equality and non-discrimination tell us, instead, that all of us, irrespective of colour, sex, age, property, birth or disability have the same rights and freedoms and must be granted the same opportunities in life. They remind us that it is the paramount duty of government and society to treat each of us the same, and to provide each of us with equal access to the social, economic and political life of the country.
Much has been spoken and written over the past year about the Maldives’ transition to a democracy. Usually, when people discuss our experience, they talk in terms of “separation of powers”, of the “independence of the judiciary”, or “freedom of the press”. However, if we boil down the reform movement to its essence, our aim was to create a society in which all of us have equal rights: to healthcare, education and employment; to voice our opinions and to participate in the social and democratic life of the country; to be treated in a fair and non-discriminatory manner.
In short, the new country that we are trying to build is one premised on the ideal of equality for all. That is the value of Human Rights Day 2009 and the message that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and in rights.”
We all have a responsibility to ourselves and to each other, to reject prejudice and discrimination wherever and whenever we come across it, and to strive to ensure that our society provides a platform upon which each and every child has an equal opportunity to live a long and prosperous life, and to fulfil his or her potential.
That is the task I set myself today, and I call on all of my countrymen and women to work with me so that together we can create a fairer, more equal and more just Maldives.
Thank you.
