The Struggle for Human Rights
Delivered on September 28, 1948, at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, advocating for the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Full Transcript
I have come this evening to talk with you on one of the greatest issues of our time—that is the struggle for the freedom of man.
Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works.
Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.
Defining Key Excerpts
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home."
"Freedom for our people is not only a right, but a responsibility."
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