August 21, 2019
Dear Friends,
This is the last segment of our series: Celebrating the International Day of Peace – The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and The United States Constitution. We have published the series on the 21st of each month, covering all 30 Articles of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. You can find the whole series on our website, interfaithpeaceproject.org or click here.
© melita stock.adobe.com
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Dignity & Justice for All Humanity
Articles 27, 28, 29, and 30
Article 27
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life
of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in
scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and
material interests resulting from any scientific, literary
or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and
freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and
full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be
subject only to such limitations as are determined by law
solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect
for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just
requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare
in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary
to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any
State, group or person any right to engage in any activity
or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any
of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
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United States Constitution
Article V
Rights of Persons
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Article VI
Rights of Accused in Criminal Prosecutions
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Article XIV
Rights Guaranteed: Privileges and Immunities of Citizenship,
Due Process, and Equal Protection)
1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
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Message of His holiness Pope Francis
For the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees
2019
[29 September 2019]
Dear brothers and sisters, our response to the challenges posed by contemporary migration can be summed up in four verbs: welcome, protect, promote and integrate. Yet these verbs do not apply only to migrants and refugees. They describe the Church’s mission to all those living in the existential peripheries, who need to be welcomed, protected, promoted and integrated. If we put those four verbs into practice, we will help build the city of God and man. We will promote the integral human development of all people. We will also help the world community to come closer to the goals of sustainable development that it has set for itself and that, lacking such an approach, will prove difficult to achieve.
In a word, it is not only the cause of migrants that is at stake; it is not just about them, but about all of us, and about the present and future of the human family. Migrants, especially those who are most vulnerable, help us to read the “signs of the times”. Through them, the Lord is calling us to conversion, to be set free from exclusivity, indifference and the throw-away culture. Through them, the Lord invites us to embrace fully our Christian life and to contribute, each according to his or her proper vocation, to the building up of a world that is more and more in accord with God’s plan.”
To read the whole article by Pope Francis, Click Here or go to
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Immigrant Rights in the United States
American Civil Liberties Union
The immigration system contains an unnecessary and unconstitutional lack of rights that is unheard of in the criminal justice system. No one should be in immigration detention without a constitutionally adequate bond hearing in which the government bears the burden of showing that detention is necessary-to protect against danger to the community or flight risk-and that no alternative release conditions would suffice.
The United States also has mandatory and disproportionate deportation laws that needlessly separate families. Reform should restore discretion to consider the equities in every individual’s case. Reform should also ensure access to counsel in immigration proceedings, as effective judicial review is an integral component of due process. More than half of individuals in immigration court proceedings are currently unrepresented, including 84 percent of those in detention.
Aclu.org
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Immigrant Rights
Public Broadcasting Network
“Most of the provisions of the Constitution apply on the basis of personhood and jurisdiction in the United States. Many parts of the Constitution use the term “people” or “person” rather than “citizen”…those laws apply to everyone physically on U.S. soil, whether they are a citizen.”
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-constitutional-rights-do-undocumented-immigrants-have
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