10 Dec 2012

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY / STEPHANE HESSEL

Interview with ninety-six year old diplomat and concentration camp survivor Stéphane Hessel on the occasion of Human Rights Day (10 December). Sixty-four years ago Hessel participated in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. UNRIC BRUSSELS

Posted at: December 10, 2012 3:55 pm

Duration: 02:38

Available in: SD

DOWNLOAD

Full script

STORY: HUMAN RIGHTS DAY / STEPHANE HESSEL
TRT: 2.38
SOURCE: UNRIC BRUSSELS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS

DATELINE: 7 DECEMBER 2012, PARIS, FRANCE

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, Paris skyline
2. Close up, interviewer's notepad
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Hessel, Human Rights Activist:
"We have come a very, very long way. At the time Europe was still divided into different and opposing nations, the Latin American continent was frequently under military rule, China was in a state quite different from what it has become now, and the United Nations itself was still in the third year only of its existence and had not yet fashioned the whole system of organizations."
4. Close up, Hessel's hands
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Hessel, Human Rights Activist:
"There are still terrible violations, not to speak of Israel and Palestine, not to speak of what's happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or of Sudan, or in many, many places still things are going the wrong way, but we must hope that the young generation today listening to the human rights declaration will find it possible to work so that things improve."
6. Close up, Hessel's eyes
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Hessel, Human Rights Activist:
"It is stupid to think that these five countries still are the masters of peace and of war. We must have a reform of the Security Council. Many people have hoped for this, and if we do, then it is possible that a more equitable way of handling conflict will appear."
8. Various shots, Hessel's hands holding Universal Declaration of Human Rights
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Stéphane Hessel, Human Rights Activist:
"Today we have a High Commissioner of Human Rights, a courageous and intelligent woman in Geneva, and there are human rights defenders in all the world's countries today that we should support. And we have the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues here in Paris that is doing a remarkable job."
10. Close up, Hessel's hands
11. Med shot, Hessel talking to interviewer

STORYLINE:

On the occasion of Human Rights Day (10 December) ninety-six year old diplomat and concentration camp survivor Stéphane Hessel said the world has come "a very, very long way" since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted 64 years ago.

Hessel, who participated in the drafting of the Declaration, said "at the time Europe was still divided into different and opposing nations, the Latin American continent was frequently under military rule, China was in a state quite different from what it has become now, and the United Nations itself was still in the third year only of its existence and had not yet fashioned the whole system of organizations."

Citing the Israel and Palestine conflict as well as the situations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, Hessel acknowledged that "there are still terrible violations" in the world today.

He said "we must hope that the young generation today listening to the Human Rights Declaration will find it possible to work so that things improve."

Speaking about the structure of the United Nations, Hessel said it is "stupid" to think that the five permanent members of the Security Council "still are the masters of peace and of war."

He called for Security Council reform as a way of finding a "more equitable way of handling conflict."

Hessel lauded the work of the Geneva-based UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, calling her a "courageous and intelligent woman."  He also commended the work of NGOs such as the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, which he said "is doing a remarkable job."

This year's theme for Human Rights Day, which is being observed through numerous events around the world, is 'Inclusion and the Right to Participate in Public Life.'

The General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 1948 – and the date has since served to mark Human Rights Day worldwide. The UDHR sets out a broad range of fundamental human rights and freedoms to which all men and women, everywhere in the world, are entitled, without any distinction.

Filed under 14.02.02 - HUMAN RIGHTS UNRIC BRUSSELS.