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December 10th is Human Rights Day

Tue, 12/09/2008

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December 10^th, 2008 commemorates the 60^th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The first article of the declaration states, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." But, unfortunately this is still not the case for many people around the world.

This year's UN theme is "dignity and justice for all of us". We, here at Penguin, would like to showcase some well-known and less well-known human right's activists who have worked hard to make their countries more just places.

One of only three women to win the Nobel Peace Price, Aung San Suu Kyi has published many of her writings. Aung San Suu Kyi was elected in 1988 as the Prime Minister of Burma but was immediately placed under house arrest by a military junta. Between 1995 and 2000 she was allowed to move about the country freely but could only leave Burma, if she never returned. Unfortunately, in 2000 she was placed under house arrest again where she remains today. During her period of "freedom" Aung San Suu Kyi wrote several books. Read two of them:

Aung San Suu Kyi, human-rights activist and leader of Burma's National League for Democracy, was detained in 1989 by SLORC, the ruling military junta. This collection of writings, including the text of the Nobel Peace Prize speech delivered by her son, reflects Aung San Suu Kyi's greatest hopes and fears for her people and her concern about the need for international cooperation, and gives poignant and humorous reminiscences as well as independent assessments of her role in politics. Containing speeches, letters and interviews, some of which are newly added, these writings give a voice to Burma's 'woman of destiny', who was awarded both the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought and the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

In this collection of writings from her six years of imprisonment in Rangoon, human-rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi paints a vivid and fundamentally optimistic picture of her native land, displaying her vision, humanity, and commitment to political and ethnic harmony in these revelatory letters.

Another important figure in the struggle for human rights is Nelson Mandela. A fascinating man who was imprisoned for 27 years for fighting against apartheid, here are some books that showcase his life:


	An extraordinary visual journey documenting Nelson Mandela's twenty-seven years in prison on Robben Island, A Prisoner in the Garden contains previously unpublished images, documents, and diary and letter extracts, as well as some original notes from the writing of Mandela's bestselling autobiography, A Long Walk to Freedom, and other archival material that helps illustrate the life in jail of the world's most famous political prisoner. As moving and inspirational as its predecessor, A Long Walk to Freedom, Prisoner in the Garden digs even deeper into Mandela's prison years.
	John Carlin, a former South Africa bureau chief for the London Independent, offers a singular portrait of the greatest statesman of our time in action, blending the volatile cocktail of race, sport, and politics to intoxicating effect. He draws on extensive interviews with Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and dozens of other South Africans caught up in Mandela's momentous campaign, and the national rugby team, the Springboks', unlikely triumph. As he makes stirringly clear, their championship transcended the mere thrill of victory to erase ancient hatreds and make a nation whole.

Also, read about a lesser known battle of apartheid that a South African born Indian man faced, with a forward from Nelson Mandela:


	A South African of Indian descent, Mac Maharaj was a potent force in the Communist Party and African National Congress for nearly four decades. Tortured by South African security forces, he served twelve years in prison with Nelson Mandela and was able to smuggle out a painstakingly miniaturized copy of Mandela's autobiography. He continued to play a key role in the movement and participated in the negotiations that ultimately led to a free South Africa in 1994. In Mandela's new government, he served as minister of transport. Drawing on extensive interviews with Maharaj over the last eleven years, Padraig O'Malley vividly captures the experiences of this South African freedom fighter. By telling Maharaj's story, O'Malley sheds new light on the decades-long battle against apartheid as well as the more recent struggle to build a free South Africa.

A discussion of human rights activists would not be complete without looking at Mahatma Gandhi, who was instrumental in the popularization of the non-violent means to protest injustices in the world. Read about Gandhi's life and his words:


	The definitive biography of the leader whose deep spirituality and devotion to a cause reshaped a country and enriched the lives of millions.
	"With this rich and interesting ensemble of essays, we finally have a handy sourcebook of Gandhi's writings."-The Journal of Asian Studies.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was largely based on other similar documents that came before it. During the so-called Enlightenment in Europe, rights were widely discussed and written about. Read two historical books:


	Writing in an age when the call for the rights of man had brought revolution to America and France, Mary Wollstonecraft produced her own declaration of female independence in 1792. Passionate and forthright, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman attacked the prevailing view of docile, decorative femininity and instead laid out the principles of emancipation: an equal education for girls and boys, an end to prejudice, and the call for women to become defined by their profession, not their partner. Mary Wollstonecraft's work was received with a mixture of admiration and outrage-Walpole called her "a hyena in petticoats"-yet it established her as the mother of modern feminism.
	One of the great classics on democracy, Rights of Man was published in England in 1791 as a vindication of the French Revolution and a critique of the British system of government. In direct, forceful prose, Paine defends popular rights, national independence, revolutionary war, and economic growth - all considered dangerous and even seditious issues. In his introduction Eric Foner presents an overview of Paine's career as political theorist and pamphleteer, and supplies essential background material to Rights of Man. He discusses how Paine created a language of modern politics that brought important issues to the common man and the working classes and assesses the debt owed to Paine by the American and British radical traditions.