Saturday, December 10, 2011

Celebrating Human Rights

On behalf of myself and all of the Global Rights staff, we would like to honor our local human rights partners around the world. Today is Human Rights Day, a day to recognize that human rights bind us together as a global community.

Today, I stopped to read a letter from President Bill Clinton that hangs in the hallway near my office. He wrote it in honor of a past Human Rights Day celebration we hosted. I pass this letter every day, sometimes multiple times a day, but the words he wrote to Global Rights really jumped out at me today.

President Clinton wrote to us:

“Organizations like Global Rights – dedicated to speaking up for those who have no voice and to shining light into the darkness of human rights abuses – help carry this struggle for all of us. You can take great pride in your role in ensuring that thousands of individuals around the world have better access to justice, can demand accountability from their governments, and understand their rights in a concrete and meaningful way.”

We take great pride in our work because we take great pride in working with and learning from our local partners. By providing local, grassroots organizations with skills and tools to create change, we are fostering and strengthening human rights cultures from the ground up, every day.

So, on this Human Rights Day, I want to thank all of our partners for speaking up for those who can’t, for their persistence, hard work, and dedication to ensure that all individuals – regardless of class, color, gender or sexual orientation—are able to live free of human rights violations.

Susan

Posted by Susan M. Farnsworth

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