U.N. rights declaration called one of 'most precious' in history

Published: 2003-12-12

UNITED NATIONS (CNS) -- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is "one of the most precious and important documents in human history," the Vatican nuncio to the United Nations said Dec. 10. Addressing the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Archbishop Celestino Migliore said the declaration had not only influenced the assembly's actions over the years but also "had a positive impact on national constitutions and other basic laws." The nuncio delivered his statement on a day devoted to commemorating the 55th anniversary of the adoption of the declaration on Dec. 10, 1948, by the General Assembly. He recalled that in addresses to the General Assembly in 1979 and 1995, Pope John Paul II called the declaration "one of the highest expressions of the human conscience of our time" and "a real milestone on the path of the moral progress of humanity."

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