Eleanor Roosevelt (bi) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for ALL
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) “was drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world,” reads the United Nations website. “The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations, translated into over 500 languages.” (Did you catch that? 1948. Seventy-three years ago.)
UDHR has even more meaning knowing of Eleanor Roosevelt’s hand in it (one of the better known bisexuals of our time). “Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, chaired the UDHR drafting committee. At a time when the world was divided into Eastern and Western blocks, finding a common ground on what should make the essence of the document proved to be a colossal task. The General Assembly adopted the UDHR with eight nations abstaining from the vote but none dissenting.”
For LGBTQ folks, its protections on family and employment are striking:
Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind. . . .
Article 16: Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. . . . The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 23 1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. 2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
Article 29 1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible [to me, that means be yourself].
If you’re reading this, you’re likely one of those working to make the aspirations of this document a reality. Thank you. Persist — stand — and don’t give up.
Read more about Eleanor Roosevelt at our previous post.
-Marci McPhee