Meryl Richardson

LCACE Inside Out Festival 2010

Critical Reflections: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Act of Memory 30

Kings College Chapel, London

28.10.2010

REVIEW

1948. The General Assembly of the United Nations adopts and proclaims the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In the stunning setting of Kings College Chapel, Monica Ross, performance artist, recited the Declaration of Human Rights, upon which various speakers provided their own short critical reflections. On this particular evening, a full orchestral rehearsal was taking place in the Great Hall beneath the Chapel. Strangely, this push and pull of music, religion and art seemed appropriate, since the Declaration as a recital piece, does not sit comfortably on the ear. It is a secular piece. It regards all human beings as equal individuals rather than citizens, yet it enshrines the right of the Nation State. This in itself is a contradiction, since many nation states are undemocratic, and even those founded on democracy are at best idiosyncratic.

Maleiha Malik, Barrister and Reader in Law at King’s, suggested that whilst the Declaration attempts to reach women and men of all cultures, there is a clear tension between respect for cultures and the oppression of women, particularly in the East. The United Nations is resistant to women’s rights and gender equality, fearing a polarization of cultures. We need only look to the United Kingdom and its inequalities; here we are still living with the ‘glass ceiling’, and a ruling elite dominated by men. This disparity is apparent in both governmental and social structures. According to Government statistics, full time female employees earn 16.4% less than men. As Winston Churchill said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others that have been tried.”

Some of the Articles were rather baffling. Article 24. “Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay”. Article 26.3. “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.” What about the children’s rights?

Monica Ross grappled with the Preamble, fighting on into the body of the text. Although the original English version utilizes ‘his’ as the universal ‘their’, this was almost without exception changed to ‘their’ in the recital. Perhaps it would have been better to recite the original version, to highlight that in many cultures, women are not treated as equals, either politically or socially.

The Declaration was founded on the Western model of democracy. Their purpose seems to be to inspire and mobilize. The act of reciting them from memory is a struggle, both for performer and audience. With a copy of the Declaration in front of you, it is possible to be accused of not entering into the spirit of the evening. However, it is useful to recognize the mistakes and omissions, and note that the repetitive nature of the wording makes recital an extremely difficult option. Although the inaccuracies and faltering were clearly part of the performance, it provided an apt metaphor for the struggle between the idealistic, as enshrined by the Declaration, vs. the reality of living in a multi-cultural, imperfect world.

This was a thought-provoking event in the calendar of the Inside Out Festival, which highlighted not how far we have come towards implementing the Declaration of Human Rights, but how much further we have to go before they are adopted by both nations, and individuals.