Am I my brother's keeper? Human Rights Conference

We have the great opportunity to live about 10 minutes from the United Nations here in Geneva. Until this time I have only been to see the outside as a tourist. In September, I was invited by the Worldwide Organization for Women, known as W.O.W., to the Human Rights Conference, 2011.

Last week, I took the bus to the U.N. and arrived for the afternoon sessions. It was quite the experience to take my official letter and then proceed to answer questions, and get my picture taken, all for my United Nations/Human Rights Conference badge.
After I got in, I found my way to a seat in the huge circular conference room and got my translating device on. It was quite moving to hear the different countries reporting on Human Rights violations around the world. A few countries expressed their opinion, on the definition of Human Rights that the council was asking their country to follow; their concerns centered on the fact that they had different cultures, religions and traditions, and therefore could not be asked to conform to the standards as defined in the Human Rights Declaration. So, when I got home, I reread the Human Rights Universal Declaration. It is pretty long, but below is the very beginning of the declaration.

“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.”

Some of the things that these countries are condoning are contrary to the above statement and it was so utterly sad to hear the report of some of these violations and tragedies which many times caused disfiguration, imprisonment and death.

Today, I helped the Worldwide Organization for Women to prepare for panel discussions at the U.N. on gender issues. After several countries gave their statements, the W.O.W. organization made its plea to the Human Rights Council. This was offered by a young lady from BYU! It was a good day. What can I say?

I am really looking forward to the rest of the Human Rights Conference. I am grateful to hear experts speak, see the cultural difference of many, many countries close up and know that I can help, if only in a little way, because they are my brothers and sisters.