Conference outlines human rights abuses committed throughout world

By Erica Miller, On-Line Forty-Niner

Tuesday, November 24, 1998

At the "50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Salute to Eleanor Roosevelt and Today's Global Woman" conference Ben Wisner, director of international studies, urged people to see human rights as an issue that involves Americans directly.

As moderator of a panel, which was held Saturday in the University Student Union, reporting on human rights situations around the world, Wisner said that although the School of Americas, a Fort Bening, Ga., facility where men are trained in assassination and torture tactics, is an American institution that has been allowed to exist, the time is now to "shut down this grisly machine."

"We have an obligation to think deeply about the use of our tax dollars for institutions like this," Wisner said.

Susy Zepeda, a sociology major and the only student panelist, reported on the human rights violations against the indigenous people in Chiapas, Mexico, who have suffered through rape, execution, kidnapping, homelessness and extreme poverty.

These people are being denied electricity, water, education and access to other resources as a part of the Mexican government's low intensity warfare, Zepeda said.

Although the Zapatistas, a grassroots revolutionary army in Mexico, have attempted peace talks with the government, the government has failed to follow the terms of the agreement. Violations have also increased, Zepeda said.

"The United Nations has asked the Mexican government to report those who violate the rights of Mexican citizens, but that's not a solution to the problem because the government is the biggest perpetrator of those violations through military and paramilitary forces," Zepeda said.

Skyne Uku-Wertimer, a professor of black studies, said that the Organization of African Unity is working to remedy problems between countries, tribes and religious groups internally, and attributes many of Africa's problems on external interventions.

Alosi Moloi, also a professor of black studies, focused his panel discussion on the problems of brutalization, education, unemployment and poverty that plague the people of South Africa.

While on the surface it may appear that the African National Congress - headed by Nelson Mandela - has regained control, the real control remains with the white minority, who sustains power through racism and financial superiority.

Diane Tillman, vice president of education for the UNA Long Beach Chapter, said that it was significant to honor Eleanor Roosevelt because she was one of the creators of the human rights declaration.

"She was the only woman assigned by President Truman, and was extremely instrumental in getting [the declaration] approved by the United Nations," Tillman said.

Micho Takeuchi, an interdisciplinary studies graduate student currently researching trafficked women, was the first recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Scholarship.

The scholarship is awarded to students who are devoted to researching human rights conditions locally or globally.