Mott Mott with his copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Photo by Steve Grant.

MOTT MOTT’S copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is well-thumbed after many decades and he reckons it’s time for a reminder of what’s at risk if citizens aren’t vigilant against the creep of authoritarianism.

“I’m very concerned because we are on a very sharp downhill slope, and I honestly can’t see us getting through this,” Mr Mott said.

A survivor of the worst days of the ‘Beacy Bronx’, Mr Mott said Australia, and particularly WA, had an over-the-top response to the Covid pandemic that undermined people’s rights and worked to concentrate more power in the political elite, such as former prime minister Scott Morrison’s decision to secretly appoint himself to five ministerial portfolios.

And it was all done with a mostly compliant media much too cosy in a Canberra bubble to shake the official narrative.

But Mr Mott says there’s a simplicity to the Universal Declaration that even youngsters can understand, and if it was more widely shared, it’d be harder for rights to be eroded.

“When I was 10 years old, I knew right from wrong.”

In that vein, the Herald provides a snapshot of the Universal Declaration. The full document can be read at: http://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/2021/03/udhr.pdf

by STEVE GRANT

Grans mark 50 

TODAY (Saturday December 10) marks 75 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the new Fremantle Grandmothers for Refugees is marking the occasion with an installation on Bathers Beach.

The grandmothers will be joined by the Fremantle Refugee Rights Action Network and Fremantle Amnesty International from 3–6.30pm to highlight the plight of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia.

Part of the installation will represent the souls who have spent years in offshore mandatory detention, a system so sus even China uses it now as a buttress against criticism of its own patchy human rights record.

There will also be booths where visitors can sign a petition and write personal messages to asylum seekers and refugees, who do not share internationally recognised rights and freedoms, including work and study.

Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.

Article I

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.

Article 3

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person. 

Article 6

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. 

Article 9

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. 

Article 14 

Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. 

Article 26 

Everyone has the right to education.