An international bill of human rights embodied in the constitution of the United Nations organization must take a clear stand against discrimination based on color, race or religion, United States Senator Wayne Morse said last night at the Biltmore Hotel at a dinner of the New York City chapter of the American Jewish Committee.
“The abrogation of racial legislation is indispensable,” he declared,” and we have the right to ask that it be made one of the conditions of membership in the United Nations organization. Such a stipulation may be termed interference with domestic policy. But you cannot separate the protection of basic human rights from the problem of maintaining international peace – the main purpose of the United Nations program.”
Senator Morse emphasized that “if intolerance and discrimination are permitted to flourish in one country they will – as we know from the example of Germany – be experted to other lands. All our efforts to abolish anti-minority prejudices in this country would be mullified if such sentiments were permitted to develop elsewhere.” The Senator commended the American Jewish Committee’s “declaration of human rights” which asks the adoption of an international bill of rights.
Ralph E. Samuel, chairman of the recently formed New York City chapter, outlined its plan to set up a broad group involving Jewish leadership in business labor, religion and education in order to implement locally the Committee’s national program of protecting civic and religious rights of Jews.
In reporting on the current work of the Committee, Dr. John Slawsen, executive vice-president, said: “Our delegation to San Francisco will urge the establishment of a commission on human rights in the international organizations that will place the rights of man above the rights of nations. This is a new concept in international law and formerly the concern was with the relation of nation to nation. We now wish to introduce the kind of national sovereignty that will make it impossible forever for any nation to resort to barbarism in the treatment of any of its nationals or citizens. We will also recommend an international trusteeship for Palestine.”
Dr. Slawson also emphasized the dangers presented by movements spreading disunity among various groups of the population and outlined the efforts of the committee to overcome these tensions. Max Lerner opened the dinner with a tribute to Pres. Roosevelt.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
