As Iran’s leading human-rights lawyer, Sotoudeh has defended dissidents and demonstrators, protesters and political prisoners, until she became a prisoner herself. So for this UN Human Rights Day on Dec. 10 — marking the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — we must stand with Sotoudeh and all others targeted for giving expression to the vision and values embodied in the declaration. This UN Human Rights Day reminds us that for 70 years, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has given us the words, but it is human collective activism that turns these words into lived rights. The struggle for human rights — and the values of the Universal Declaration that anchor it — demand no less. She is a Co-chair of the Raoul Wallenberg All Party Parliamentary Caucus for Human Rights.

Source: National Post December 07, 2018 15:00 UTC