WFUNA's History in Human Rights

Eleanor Roosevelt was an active participant in WFUNA. Since the adoption in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which she chaired, WFUNA considered human rights advocacy as a central part of its programs. A number of international seminars in different regions of the world have been organized by WFUNA on the teaching of human rights. The proposal for creating the position of a High Commissioner for Human Rights was on WFUNA’s agenda for many years.

In practical terms, WFUNA played a crucial role by helping people in those countries where human rights were violated, such as Franco’s Spain, some of the former communist countries in Eastern Europe and in the Middle East. WFUNA was the first international organization that brought together the people of divided countries – such as East and West Germany and Cyprus, and the opponents in conflicts, for example between Israel and Egypt in the late 1960’s.

WFUNA made significant contributions to the NGO campaign for the abolition of Apartheid. The 32nd General Assembly of the United Nations, in 1977, received a resolution from the 117th WFUNA Executive Committee meeting, which requested:

“The Security Council of the United Nations to give urgent consideration to the taking of immediate steps to ensure that no State, multinational or other body or person be allowed to provide South Africa or Rhodesia with any equipment, technology or production of nuclear weapons or any kind”.

In the past few years, WFUNA has organized annual seminars on human rights. In July 2003, the WFUNA Geneva Office and the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights organized a week-long programme that brought together 50 representatives of governmental and non-governmental organisations from different parts of the world, including China, Russia and Iran. The seminar was a great success, and has become an annual event for WFUNA.

Building on the momentum of the 2003 conference, for six years in a row, WFUNA organised the three-day Seminar in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The most recent edition in 2008 focused on the Human Rights Council and the Universal Periodic Review.  

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2008, Dr Hans Blix, then President of WFUNA, invited NGOs linked to the United Nations to participate in the first-ever interactive global online conversation on the "Universality of Human Rights."

The promotion and protection of human rights is a program priority for many United Nations Associations. For human rights resources and tollkits developed by UNAs, please click here >>