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Defending the defenceless.

Article Excerpt
Cyrus the Great wasn't called "The Great" because he was a big man. His greatness came from his military skill but more from his compassion towards ordinary people. On the day of his coronation as Emperor of Persia (559 BC), Cyrus proclaimed a Charter of Human Rights. This is the first known statement of the rights of people in the history of the human race.

In 2003, Shirin Ebadi, a courageous human rights lawyer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Ms. Ebadi is from Iran, a country that now covers much of the land ruled by Cyrus the Great, but which that ancient leader would be horrified to see is under the boot of extreme Muslim clerics. In her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech Shirin Ebadi said:

"I am an Iranian. A descendant of Cyrus the Great. The very emperor who proclaimed at the pinnacle of power 2,500 years ago that '... he would not reign over the people if they did not wish it.' And, [he] promised not to force any person to change his religion and faith and guaranteed freedom for all. The Charter of Cyrus the Great is one of the most important documents that should be studied in the history of human rights."

Since the time of Cyrus there have been many other declarations about the rights of humans. The most important document is The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Written mostly by a Canadian, John Humphrey, the Declaration was adopted by the United Nations in 1948.

The Universal Declaration limits the behaviour of states towards their citizens; no discrimination based on race, gender, colour, or creed; no imprisonment without trial; no torture; no slavery; freedom of thought, opinion, assembly, religion, and conscience; the right to a decent standard of living, education, work, and leisure. Those are some of the highlights of the Declaration.

It would be nice to report that all states obeyed the document, especially as practically every one of them has signed the pledge. But, sometimes the world is not a nice place.

The list of countries that abuse the human rights of their citizens is a long one and includes: Syria, Nigeria, Haiti, the United States, Egypt,...