Declaration of International Human Rights
Tom Watson Sr. International Human Rights |
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Published September 25, 2021
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Updated September 26, 2021
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On the 153rd Anniversary of the ratification of the United States Bill of Rights, an appeal was issued for an International Bill of Rights. It went to the press with the signatures of 1,326 Americans of all faiths. It was made public for the American Jewish community by Joseph M. Proskauer along with a list of 172 public officials and 348 church leaders.
Thomas J. Watson Sr. was one of the “public officials” who signed this declaration:
Thomas J. Watson Sr. was one of the “public officials” who signed this declaration:
Multiple Press Articles, December 15, 1944
Declaration of Human Rights
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“With the inevitable end of Hitler, the struggle begins not of tank and plane, but of heart and soul and brain to forge a world in which humanity may live in peace.
“This new world must be based on the recognition that the individual human being is the cornerstone of our culture and our civilization. All that we cherish must rest on the dignity and inviolability of the person, of his sacred right to live and to develop under God, in whose image he was created. “With this creed as our foundation, we declare: |
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- That an international bill of human rights must be promulgated to guarantee for every man, woman, and child, of every race and creed and in every country, the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
- No plea of sovereignty shall ever again be allowed to permit any nation to deprive those within its borders of these fundamental rights on the claim that these are matters of internal concern.
- Hitlerism has demonstrated that bigotry and persecution by a barbarous nation throws upon the peace-loving nations the burden of relief and redress. Therefore it is a matter of international concern to stamp out infractions of basic human rights.
- To those who have suffered under the Hitler regime because of race or creed or national origin, there shall be given fair redress.
- To those who have been driven from the land of their birth there shall be given the opportunity to return, unaffected in their rights by Nazi despotism.
- To those who wander the earth unable or unwilling to return to scenes of unforgettable horror shall be given aid and comfort to find new homes and begin new lives in other parts of the world. This must be made possible by international agreement.”
December 15, 1944, 153rd Anniversary of Ratification of the U.S. Bill of Rights
President Roosevelt signed this document along with Thomas J. Watson Sr. The President stated that it was not his practice to sign documents of this nature but that he fully sympathized with movements in support of a policy “which he himself has affirmed on so many occasions.”
Other signers included Governor Thomas E Dewey of New York, Supreme Court Justices Owen J. Roberts and Frank Murphy, William Green, president of the AFL, Philip Murray, CIO president, Governors from across the United States, and church leaders which included 37 bishops of the Episcopal, Catholic, and Methodist denominations, and leaders of more than a dozen Jewish organizations.
Other signers included Governor Thomas E Dewey of New York, Supreme Court Justices Owen J. Roberts and Frank Murphy, William Green, president of the AFL, Philip Murray, CIO president, Governors from across the United States, and church leaders which included 37 bishops of the Episcopal, Catholic, and Methodist denominations, and leaders of more than a dozen Jewish organizations.