46 Human Rights Monuments

Click here for President Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms." | Click here for peacemakers for human rights. | Click here for civil rights in the USA.

Click Movement names in this table for the monuments of each Movement:

Monuments of Specific Movements	Dates	Benchmarks & Resolution	Notable Peacemakers
Human Rights Rights of Man Universal Rights	1689-1976	1689 - Bill of Rights (England) 1789 - Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen 1791 - Bill of Rights (US Constitution) 1948 - Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1976 - International Bill of Human Rights
Abolition Movement	1748-1865	1748 - Conversion of John Newton 1833 - Slavery Abolition Act (British Empire) 1863 - Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln 1865 - 13th Amendment to US Constitution	Notable Abolitionists Notable Quaker Peacemakers Sojourner Truth Monuments Harriet Tubman Monuments
Peace Conferences, International Arbitration & Peace Movement	1814-1945	1814 - Congress of Vienna 1848 - First International Peace Congress, Brussels (Belgium) 1899 - First Hague Peace Conference .. 1905 - Bertha von Suttner, 1st woman to receive Nobel Peace Prize 1907 - Second Hague Peace Conference 1913 - Peace Palace constructed by Andrew Carnegie in The Hague 1919 - League of Nations, Geneva (Switzerland) 1945 - United Nations, New York City (USA)	PAC Notable Pacifists Notable Peace Philanthropists Notable WILPF Leaders Notable FOR Leaders All Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Notable World Federalists Notable UN Officials UN Messengers of Peace
Women's Rights & Suffrage Movement	1848-1920	1848 - First Women's Rights Convention, Seneca Falls, NY 1916 - Jeannette Rankin, 1st women elected to US Congress 1918 - Representation of the People Act (United Kingdom) 1920 - 19th Amendment to US Constitution .. 1995 - Nobel Peace Prize to Jane Addams	Notable Suffragists Women Named for 2005 Nobel Prize
Labor Movement	1848-Ongoing	1848 - Communist Manifesto by Marx & Engels 1947 - Taft-Hartley Act	LAB Notable Labor Activists
Freethought & Rationalism	1848-Ongoing	1848 - Trancendentalism in USA & Revolutions in Europe 1879 - Robert Ingersoll publishes "Some Mistakes of Moses"	Notable Atheists & Agnostics
Red Cross	1864-Ongoing	1864 - Geneva Convention .. 1901 - First Nobel Peace Prize to Henry Dunant	Notable Red Cross Leaders
Esperanto Movement	1887-Ongoing	1887 - First book of Esperanto grammar by Ludwig Zamenhof 1942 - Lidia Zamenhof murdered at Treblinka	Notable Esperantists Esperanto Monuments
Museums for Peace	1902-Ongoing	1902 - Jan Bloch, First Peace Museum, Lucerne (Switzerland) 1955 - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum (Japan) 1992 - International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP)	Notable Peace Museum Leaders
Holocaust Resistance	1933-1945	1933 - Hitler elected Chancelor of Germany .. 1935 - Nobel Peace Prize to Carl von Ossietzky 1945 - VE-Day (defeat of Nazi Germany) 1948 - Creation of the State of Israel	Notable Nazi Resisters & Victims Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial
Anti-Nuclear Bomb Movement	1945-Ongoing	1945 - Atomic bombs destroy Hiroshima & Nagasaki 1955 - Russell-Einstein Manifesto 1958 - CND peace symbol created for Aldermaston march 1982 - Million march during UN General Assembly meeting on disarmament .. 1995 - Nobel Peace Prize to Pugwash Conference & Joseph Rotblat 1996 - World Court: "Nuclear weapons threat or use generally contrary to intl. law"	Notable Disarmament Activists CO Notable Conscientious Objectors Peace Monuments in Hiroshima Peace Monuments in Nagasaki Monuments using CND peace symbol
Cold War	1947-1991	1947 - Soviet Union creates Cominform 1961 - Construction of Berlin Wall 1990 - Fall of Berlin Wall 1991 - Fall of Soviet Union
Palestinian Resistance	1948-Ongoing	1948 - Nakba: Zionist militia evict Palestinians 1967 - Six-Day War: Israel occupies West Bank & Gaza 1982 - Sabra & Shatila massacre of Palestinians in Beirut, Lebanon 2014 - Israel-Gaza Conflict Not yet resolved	Vocabulary of the Conflict Deir Yassin massacre in 1948 East & West Jerusalem since 1948
Apartheid Resistance	1948-1994	1948 - Election of National Party .. 1961 - Nobel Peace Prize to Albert Lutuli .. 1993 - Nobel Peace Prize to Nelson Mandela 1994 - General Election of 1994 (end of Apartheid)	Peace Monuments in South Africa
Civil Rights Movement in USA	1954-1968	1954 - Brown vs. Board of Education 1963 - March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom 1964 - Civil Rights Act of 1964 .. 1964 - Nobel Peace Prize to Martin Luther King, Jr. 1965 - Voting Rights Act of 1965 1968 - Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.	Notable Black Civil Rights Activists MLK Martin Luther King Jr. Monuments
Disability Rights Movement	1960's-Ongoing	1973 - Rehabilitation Act Not yet resolved
Gay Liberation & Same-Sex Marriage	1969-Ongoing	1969 - Stonewall Riots in New York City 2004 - Fist same-sex weddings in Massachusetts (USA) 2011 - "Don't ask, don't tell" abolished in US military Not yet resolved	Notable Gays & Lesbians
Right to Die Movement Death With Dignity Movement	1976-Ongoing	1976 - First World Conference of Right to Die Societies 1980 - Derek Humphry founds Hemlock Society USA 1994 - Oregon Death With Dignity Act 1998 - Dignitas founded in Switzerland by Ludwig A. Minelli 2012 - Final Exit Network wins case in Georgia Supreme Court 2015 - Canadian Supreme Court permits physician-assisted suicide Not yet resolved	Notable Right To Die Advocates

Right click image to enlarge.

6th century BCE - Cyrus Cylinder, British Museum, London (England). An ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several fragments. Placed in the foundations of the Esagila (the temple of Marduk in Babylon) as a foundation deposit following the Persian conquest in 539 BCE." Discovered in the ruins of Babylon in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) in 1879." Bears a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of the Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great [576-530 BCE]. // "Called the first bill of human rights [since] it refers to restoring religious sanctuaries & returning deported peoples to their homelands after King Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BCE." // "The United Nations has declared the relic to be an 'ancient declaration of human rights' since 1971, approved by then Secretary General Sithu U Thant. The British Museum describes the cylinder as 'an instrument of ancient Mesopotamian propaganda...that reflects a long tradition in Mesopotamia where, from as early as the third millennium BCE, kings began their reigns with declarations of reforms.'" Exhibited at Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian Institution) in 2013.

1215 - Magna Carta, British Library, London (England). Originally known as the Charter of Liberties. Written in iron gall ink on parchment in medieval Latin, using standard abbreviations of the period, authenticated with the Great Seal of King John. The original wax seal was lost over the centuries. Identified as "British Library Cotton MS Augustus II.106."

August 26, 1789 - During the French Revolution, the National Assembly of France adopted the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen," which states in Article 11 that "the free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write & print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law."

1789 - "The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, August 1789" by Jean Jacques Francois Le Barbier [1738-1826]. Where is the original?

After 1789 - Various decorative representations of the Droits de l"Homme et du Citoyen.

September 25, 1789 - The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public. While originally the amendments applied only to the federal government, most of their provisions have since been held to apply to the states by way of the 14th Amendment. The amendments were introduced by James Madison [1751-1836] to the 1st United States Congress as a series of legislative articles. They were adopted by the House of Representatives on August 21, 1789, formally proposed by joint resolution of Congress on September 25, 1789, and came into effect as Constitutional Amendments on December 15, 1791, through the process of ratification by three-fourths of the States. While twelve amendments were passed by Congress, only ten were originally passed by the states. Of the remaining two, one was adopted as the 27th Amendment, and the other technically remains pending before the states."

Date? - Mural, Federal Courthouse, Greensboro, South Carolina (USA). By Jill Biskin of Athens, Georgia. Depicts signing of the Bill of Rights. Commissioned as part of the lobby renovation.

1794-1797 - The French ship Droits de l'Homme was launched on May 29, 1794, & sunk by the Royal Navy on January 13, 1797.

1840 - near Plozévet (France). "This is a large menhir inscribed in 1840 to commemorate the shipwreck of the 'Droits de l'Homme' in 1797 with the loss of around 600 lives. The stone used was once a real menhir moved to here from elsewhere. It's at the edge of a car park besides this phenomenal beach, with the surf pounding in all around, creating its own fog!"

1897 - "Statue de la République Bransissant les Droits de l'Homme," place de la République, Pézenas, Hérault (France). "Dans la main droite, la femme personnifiant la République tient un drapeau français, bleu, blanc, rouge. Dans la gauche elle tient un éclair sur lequel s'inscrit: droits de l'homme." By Charles-Romain-Joseph Capellaro [1826-1899], un sculpteur d'origine italienne naturalisé français.

- About 1920 - Memorial Pillars, Runnymede Meadow, A308 Highway, Berkshire, Surrey (England). Also called kiosks. Designed by Edwin Lutyens [1869-1944]. "A water-meadow alongside the River Thames & just over 20 miles (32 km) west of central London. Notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215 & as a consequence is the site of a collection of memorials." /// "In December 1929, the historic Runnymede Meadow, with adjoining lands totaling 182 acres (0.74 km2) twenty miles (32 km) southwest of London, where the civil freedoms of Magna Charta were agreed to in 1215, was presented to the National Trust by Lady Fairhaven and her two sons in memory of Urban Hanlon Broughton [1857-1929]."

- 1957 - Magna Carta Memorial, Runnymede (England). Erected by the American Bar Association (ABA).

- May 14, 1965 - Kennedy Memorial, Runnymede (England). "This acre of English ground was given to the United States of America by the people of Britain in memory of John F. Kennedy."

1924 - "Champion of Labor. Defender of Human Rights" (statue of John Mitchell), Lackawanna County Courthouse, Scranton, Pennsylvania (USA). On back side of courthouse. John Mitchell [1870-1919] was a US labor leader & president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1898 to 1908.

December 10, 1948 - Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). "Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris (France). The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the World War-II & represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. It consists of 30 articles which have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions & laws. The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, & the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights & its two Optional Protocols. In 1966, the General Assembly adopted the two detailed Covenants, which complete the International Bill of Human Rights; and in 1976, after the Covenants had been ratified by a sufficient number of individual nations, the Bill took on the force of international law."

After 1948 - Place des Droits de l'Homme / Terrace of the Rights of Man, Palais de Chaillot, Trocadero, Paris (France). Also called Parvis des Droits de l'Homme. "The name of the palace square comes from the fact that Chaillot palace was the place where United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on December 10, 1948 [right image]." /// "This event is now commemorated by a stone, and the esplanade is known as the esplanade des droits de l'homme ("esplanade of human rights"). The Palais de Chaillot was also the initial headquarters of NATO, while the 'Palais de l'OTAN' (now Université Paris Dauphine) was being built." /// "La terrasse supérieure, baptisée 'Place des droits de l’homme,' est ornée, le long de ses bassins, de statues en bronze doré. Ces statues représentent sept femmes et un homme : La Jeunesse (Alexandre Descatoire), Flore (Marcel Gimond), Le Matin (Pryas), La Campagne (Paul Cornet), Les Oiseaux (Lucien Brasseur), Les Jardins (Robert Couturier), Le Printemps (Paul Niclausse), Les Fruits (Félix Desruelles)."

1952 - Bill of Rights, Rotunda, National Archives, Washington, DC (USA). Building constructed 1931-1935. "The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution & the Bill of Rights have been displayed to the public since 1952 in hermetically sealed encasements filled with inert helium gas... In July 2001, National Archives conservators removed the documents from their cases & analyzed their condition. Appropriate conservation measures were taken on each document & they have been installed in the new encasements, returning to public display in September 2003."

November 22, 1969 - American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José). "The treaty is open to all OAS member states, although to date it has not been ratified by Canada or several of the English-speaking Caribbean nations; the United States signed it in 1977 but has not proceeded with ratification... As of 2013, 25 of the 35 OAS's member states have ratified the Convention, while [Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela] have denounced it subsequently, leaving 23 active parties... The bodies responsible for overseeing compliance with the Convention are the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights & the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, both of which are organs of the Organization of American States (OAS)."

December 1985 - Osaka Jinken Hakubutsu-kan / Osaka Human Rights Museum (Liberty Osaka), Osaka (Japan). "Relaunched in December 1995. The first general museum dedicated to human rights in Japan. Focuses on the history of the struggle against discrimination experienced by the nation's minority ethnic groups; the burakumin, the Ainu of Hokkaido, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa & Japan's communities of Korean and Chinese descent. There are also exhibits dedicated to discrimination issues affecting women, gays & lesbians, the physically challenged & the survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki (the Hibakusha)."

October 17, 1987 - Commemorative Stone, Place des Droits de l'Homme, Palais de Challot, Trocadero, Paris (France). "In response to the call of Joseph Wresinski [1917-1988] - founder of the International Movement ATD Fourth World - 100,000 defenders of human rights gathered in Paris to honour the victims of hunger, violence & ignorance, to express their refusal of extreme poverty & to call on people from all walks of life to unite to ensure respect for human rights. A commemorative stone proclaiming this message was inaugurated on this occasion on the Plaza of Human Rights and Liberties - where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948. Since then, on the 17th of October each year, people from all walks of life, gather throughout the world to express their solidarity & commitment to ensure that everyone's dignity & freedom are respected. On 22nd of December 1992, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared 17th October the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. There are now over 30 replicas of the original stone now located around the world [where?!]. These sites have become places of honour for people living in poverty in the world, places where people gather to reject the inevitability of poverty & social exclusion & places of friendship & solidarity where people from all backgrounds can gather together.

August 26, 1989 - Bicentennial of the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen." "The year 1989 marks the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. To celebrate, the French government is throwing its biggest party in at least 100 years, to last all year. In the United States, an American Committee on the French Revolution (ACFR) has been set up to coordinate programs on this side of the Atlantic, emphasizing the theme 'France and America: Partners in Liberty.'" /// Image shows French commemorative stamp. The three birds are the logo of bicentennial in France & of the ACFR in the USA.

1989 - US Stamp. "Commemorates the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. The over size stamp carries with it, a representation of the French Flag, along with allegorical figures representing the ideals of the French Revolution, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. The stamp is unusual in that these very French national symbols appear on a stamp from the USA."

August 26, 1989 - Monument des Droits de l'Homme / Monument of the Rights of Man, Champs de Mars (face à la Rue de Belgrade), Paris (France). Masonic monument "installed on the 200th anniversary of 'La Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen.'" // "Inutile de chercher une quelconque indication ou un historique sur son implantation. Il n’y en a pas. On est discret ou on ne l’est pas. Ce monument se devait d’être là et il n’a besoin d’aucune publicité touristique…"

1989 - Paris? (France). "Here is [the plaque of] a sequoia tree given as a gift by America on the bicentennial of the Declaration of the Rights of Man of France & the Bill of Rights of the USA."

1989 - Civil Rights Memorial (fountain), Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Montgomery, Alabama (USA). By Maya Lin. A memorial to 40 people who died between 1954 (year of Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education) and 1968 (year of Martin Luther King's assassination.) Civil Rights Memorial Center (CRMC) added in 2005.

August 3, 1990 - Japanese American Historical Plaza & Bill of Rights Memorial, Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 2 Northwest Naito Parkway, Portland, Oregon (USA). "A unique and beautiful sculpture garden. Dotted with cherry trees, the plaza serves as a memorial to the Japanese Americans who were detained in concentration camps during WWII." "Dedicated to the memory of those who were deported to inland internment camps during World War II. In the memorial garden, artwork tells the story of the Japanese people in the Northwest - of immigration, elderly immigrants, native-born Japanese Americans, soldiers who fought in US military services during the war, and the business people who worked hard and had hope for the children of the future. A sculpture by Jim Gion, Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, also graces the plaza."

September 30, 1990 - Canadian Tribute to Human Rights Monument, Lisgar & Elgin Streets, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Immediately adjacent to Ottawa City Hall. "Dedicated to the fundamental concepts of personal freedom & respect for the dignity of each individual with the inscription of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity & rights.' The Tribute is the first monument in the world dedicated to universal human rights [sic], & was unveiled by Dalai Lama of Tibet in September of 1990." /// What are "universal human rights?" /// Visited by EWL.

1991 - Memorial de las Victimas del Mozote, Parish of Santiago Apostol Torola (El Salvador). "In December of 1981, members of the Salvadoran armed forces entered El Mozote & the surrounding villages rounding up, separating & systematically killing men, women & children. Through investigations, exhumations & testimonies, Tutela Legal, the San Salvador Archdiocese’s human rights office & SHARE partner has identified 819 individuals killed in the massacre – over half under the age of twelve. Many of the soldiers responsible trained at the School of the Americas at Ft. Benning, Georgia, in the USA."

1992 - Insan Haklari Aniti / Human Rights Monument , Karsiyaka, Izmir (Turkey). "Sculptured by Bihvat Mavitan in 1992. Human Rights Made up of three elements that represent majority & democracy. That’s why it’s not a single composition. Biggest element is the door to human rights. The road going human rights passes through this door and reaches eternity, symbolizing the hope of society for improvement."

August 1993 - Dalton Trumbo Fountain Court, University Memorial Center (UMC), Colorado University (CU), Boulder, Colorado (USA). Named for Dalton Trumbo [1905-1976] the blacklisted author and CU alumnus who stood up to Senator Joe McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947. "Free-speech area" for campus events such as speeches and rallies. Rehabilitated in 2003. Visited by EWL.

S T R E E T

October 24, 1993 - Straße der Menschenrechte / Way of Human Rights, Germanisches Nationalmuseum /German National Museum, Nuremberg (Germany). "Sited on the street between the new and old buildings of the musuem, connecting Kornmarkt Street and the medieval city wall. Consists of a gate, 27 round pillars made of white concrete, two pillars buried in the ground showing only a round plate, and one columnar oak, for a total of 30 pillars. Engraved in each pillar is one article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "Part of Nuremberg's efforts to shake off its Nazi-era reputation as the 'City of the Party Rallies' and reinvent itself as a 'City of Peace & Human Rights.'" "By Israeli sculptor Danny Karavan. See similar use of stone pillars by Karavan at Nitzana Settlement in the Negev Desert (Israel).

November 1993 - Cede de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos / Inter-American Human Rights Court, San José (Costa Rica). "The Court’s first hearing was held on June 29 and 30, 1979 at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC (USA). On July 1, 1978, the OAS General Assembly recommended to approve the Costa Rican Government’s formal offer to establish the Court’s headquarters in their country. This decision was ratified by the State Parties at the Convention during the Sixth Special Session of the General Assembly in November 1978. The settling ceremony of the Court was celebrated in San José on September 3, 1979... On September 10, 1981, the Government of Costa Rica & the Court signed the Headquarters Agreement...The Government of Costa Rica in November 1993 donated to the Court the house where it is located today."

December 20, 1993 - Headquarters of Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Geneva (Switzerland). In the historic Palais Wilson building. The UN General Assembly has since 1948 adopted some 80 human rights conventions & declarations. The OHCHR has lead responsibility for the promotion & protection of human rights, and for implementing the human rights programme within the UN. The UN Human Rights Council was created by the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by resolution 60/251. It is made up of 47 UN Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly. It replaced the former UN Commission on Human Rights.

1994 - Sakai City Peace & Human Rights Museum (Phoenix Museum), Sakai City Education & Cultural Centre (Sophia Sakai Planatarium), 1426 Shimizucho, Fukaishimizu-cho, Naka-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture (Japan). Celebrates Sakai City's Declaration for Protecting Human Rights (1980) & Non-Nuclear Peace Declaration (1983).

1995 - Palais des Droits de l'Homme (où siège la Cour européenne des Droits de l'Homme), Strasbourg (France). "The building, which houses the court chambers & Registry (administration and référendaires), was designed by the Richard Rogers Partnership and completed in 1995. The design is meant to reflect, amongst other things, the two distinct components of the Commission & Court (as it was then). Wide scale use of glass emphasises the openness of the court to European citizens."

1995 - "Universal Links on Human Rights," Amiens Street & Memorial Road, Dublin (Ireland). On a traffic island close to Busáras & the Customs House. "A sphere of welded interlinked chains and bars, 260 cm in diameter, housing an eternal flame in its center, powered by natural gas from the Kinsale Head gas field. Commissioned by Amnesty International in 1995 & designed by Tony O'Malley. Represents the jails holding prisoners of conscience."

F O U N T A I N

1996 -- International Peace Fountain, Woodruff Park, Five Points, Peachtree Street and Auburn Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia (USA). "Commemorates Atlanta’s pivotal role in the world wide human & civil rights movement." Created in time for the Olympic Games in the Summer of 1996. Includes "Phoenix Rising from the Ashes"which was designed by Gamba Quirino, cast in Italy, and depicts a woman being lifted from flames by a phoenix in flight. This statue was commissioned in 1967 (or 1969?) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its Rich's Department Store at Spring Street & Martin Luther King Boulevard. It was moved to Woodruff Park in 1995 and now represents the city of Atlanta and its ascent from the ashes and devastation of the Civil War to become an important international city.

B E L L

December 31, 1999 - World Peace Bell, Newport, Kentucky (USA) -- just across Ohio River from Cincinnatti, Ohio. World's largest free-swinging bell. Dedicated on the eve of the new millenium. Project begun by Wayne Carlisle, president of the Millenium Monument Company. Inscribed "The World Peace Bell is a symbol of freedom and peace, honoring our past, celebrating our present, and inspiring our future." Cast in Nantes (France) by Paccard Bell Foundry on December 11, 1998, the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The Bell has an inscription commemorating that document, as well as engravings marking the most important events of the past 1,000 years." Not associated with World Peace Bell Association (Japan). Entry #355 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). Click here for other peace bells.

Date? - Universal Declaration of Human Rights statue, Ankara (Turkey). "The fact that the human rights statue in the centre of Ankara is a symbol of a long struggle waged by brave individuals against an often oppressive state - and the fact that it exists at all - says something. But there are limits and there are lines that it can sometimes be fatal to cross. 'No-one should be subjected to torture' says the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Activists in Turkey have set up a museum to commemorate the unlucky ones. It was empty when I went there - an eery silence."

2001 - Sharpeville Human Rights Precinct, Sedibeng township, Sharpeville (South Africa). "A memorial to victims of the watershed event [on 21 March 1960] that was the beginning of the end of apartheid... That Monday over 300 people marched on the police station in Sharpeville to hand in their pass books. A total of 69 people (including 13 anonymous foreigners) were shot dead and 180 injured when police opened fire. Many were shot in the back... In 1966 the UN declared 21 March the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination & since the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994 it is remembered as Human Rights Day. Opened by Nelson Mandela, the Memorial features a dramatic wall at the entrance containing the names of the dead, who are buried in the nearby Sharpeville Cemetery, and 69 pillars in a garden split by a stream flowing from a fountain. Mandela named Sharpeville the Cradle of Human Rights."

April 9, 2002 - George Mason Memorial, Tidal Basin, NW, Washington, DC (USA). "Dedicated to the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which inspired Thomas Jefferson while drafting the Declaration of Independence. George Mason [1725-1792] persuaded our forefathers to include individual rights as a part of the Bill of Rights." Features a 72-foot (22 m) long stone wall with a one-third larger than life-sized statue of a sitting Mason, his legs crossed, & a circular pool. The landscape architect was Faye B. Harwell. The sculptor was Wendy M. Ross. "If you are wondering who George Mason is, he was a founding father involved with the Constitutuion & Bill of Rights."

M E M

2002 - Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, Boise, Idaho (USA). Along the Boise Greenbelt near the Black History Museum, Boise Art Gallery, Idaho History Museum, MK Nature Center & Log Cabin Literary Center."This world-class educational park, which has been profiled in several national publications including the National Geographic book 'Etched in Stone: Enduring Words from Our Nation's Monuments,' is the only Anne Frank memorial in the USA & one of the only places in the world where the full Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is on public display. The Memorial includes a life-sized bronze statue of Anne Frank & over 60 quotes from the world's humanitarian leaders. /// Kurt Karst, an Idaho Falls architect, designed the Memorial to integrate the beauty of natural elements-like water, stone & native plants-with the message of hope in humanity." "Gregory Stone of Northampton, Massachusetts, designed a bronze statue to honor Anne Frank."

December 10, 2002 - Green Island Human Rights Memorial Park, Green Island, Tai-Tung County (Taiwan). Site of two prisons which held political prisoners. Educational center opened in 2008. Green Island is 33 km off Taiwan's southeast coast.

January 9, 2004 - Human Rights Mural, Coral Springs Museum of Art (Csmart), Coral Springs, Florida (USA). By artist Yuri Gevorgian Yuroz. "Commissioned by the United Nations. Joined an already running show on the artist called 'The Narrative Culture of Cubism.'" What's its permanent location?

2005 - Civil Rights Memorial Center (CRMC), Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Montgomery, Alabama (USA). "Adjacent to the Civil Rights Memorial (qv). In addition to exhibits about Civil Rights Movement martyrs, the Memorial Center houses a 56-seat theater, a classroom for educational activities & and the Wall of Tolerance." The names of more than half a million people who have pledged to take a stand against hate & work for justice & tolerance in their daily lives flow continuously down the 20-by-40 foot wall. Visitors have the opportunity to take the pledge & add their names to the Wall during their visit.

2005 - Monumento de Derechos Humanos / Human Rights Monument, Murcia (Spain). Inscribed for Centario del Diario la Verdad 1905-2005 / Century of the Journal of Truth 1905-2005.

April 20, 2006 - Free Speech Monument, City Hall, Charlottesville, Virginia (USA). "Back when the city established the free speech monument, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression - which commissioned & funded the slate wall in front of city hall - made quite clear to the city that they must never, ever erase anything from it, because doing so would be an unconstitutional violation of individual’s right to free expression. Unfortunately, new city manager Maurice Jones apparently quite literally didn’t get the memo, because he recently ordered city staff to erase a drawing from the wall.."

October 3, 2008 - Friedens-Ei / Peace Egg, Grossmünster place, Zurich (Switzerland). Made by Peace Brigades International (PBI). "2.5 meters wide & 80 kilos. Anniversary egg at the University of Berne under direction of Dr. Stefan Stankowski, professor of physics & director of Fachschaftssitzung physics, science & research. Giorgio Insom, Researcher, University of Applied Sciences Berne, planned & assembled. The interplay between technology & peace is unique & illustrates the fragility & vulnerability of human rights."

M U S E U M

February 13, 2010 - People's History Museum, on the Left Bank in Spinningfields, Manchester (England). "Derives its origin from the Trade Union, Labour & Co-operative History Society. From the 1960's the society formed a small collection & between 1975 & 1986 ran a museum in Limehouse Town Hall in London. The museum re-opened in 1990, initially at 103 Princess Street in Manchester. In May 1994 new museum galleries were opened in the Edwardian Pump House on Bridge Street. In October 2007 the museum closed to the public to allow for the start of a multi-million pound re-development scheme. A bigger & better People’s History Museum re-opened on 13 February 2010." /// From Peter van den Dungen 20Jan2012: "The museum is mainly about the growth of universal suffrage; right to unionise; growth of welfare state, etc.). One of the original artefacts is the desk on which Tom Paine wrote 'The Rights of Man.' Also a 1790's painting of Mary Wollstonecraft ('A vindication of the rights of women')." Click here for video. Click here for another video. N.B.: Sculpture in front of the museum is "Doves of Peace" designed by Michael Lyons in 1986 to commemorate Manchester as the World's first nuclear free city."

C A R V I N G

May 10, 2012 - Stone Carving of Rosa Parks, Human Rights Porch, Narthex, Washington National Cathedral, Washington, DC (USA). "The area includes likenesses of Oscar Romero, Eleanor Roosevelt & John T. Walker (first African American bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington once arrested at a protest rally against apartheid at the South African Embassy)... The statue of Rosa Parks [1913-2005] was commissioned along with a carving of Mother Teresa that will be dedicated later this year." /// Right image shows statue of Eleanor Roosevelt which is about two feet (0.6 m) tall & above the archway leading to the west narthex.

July 5, 2008 - Bill of Rights Display, Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa (USA). "America’s first Bill of Rights display was dedicated [in a] scene straight out of a Frank Capra movie. While the crowd sang the national anthem, the morning’s first breath of wind snapped the flag out smartly just as the it reached the top of the flagpole – as if in response to the color guard’s salute. Then, at the precise moment of the unveiling, the courthouse clock tower bells rang out; not as a part of any grand plan, but because it happened to be exactly 11 AM! The largest crowd in memory for the annual Independence Day celebration burst into applause, and the celebration began..."

December 15, 2012 - Bill of Rights Monument, Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, Phoenix, Arizona (USA). Across from the Arizona State Capitol. "The country’s first Bill of Rights monument...consists of ten 10 foot-tall limestone monoliths with the 10 US Constitution’s Amendments." /// "It started as a joke about 10 years ago. Chris Bliss, a juggler & stand-up comedian of Internet fame, [noted] the controversy over a granite monument to the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of Alabama’s state judicial building. 'Instead of arguing over whether to leave up or take down these displays of the Ten Commandments,' he said in a comedy routine, 'my suggestion is to put up displays of the Bill of Rights next to them and let people comparison shop.' Funny or not, the idea intrigued him, so Mr. Bliss set out to search for Bill of Rights monuments, only to find there were none. He decided to try to build one, and to do it in Arizona, 'a place that’s known as contentious, a backwater, even,' he said." /// Bliss had sarted MyBillofRights.org - the Bill of Rights Monument Project - with the slogan "ONE DOWN, 49 TO GO."

May 31, 2013 - "Remember Them," (Champions for Humanity Monument), Henry J. Kaiser Memorial Park, 19th & Rashida Muhammad Streets, Oakland, California (USA). Next to Fox Theater. Bronze with cast stone base. Measures 25' high x 52' wide, covers 1,000 sq. ft. & weighs over 60,000 lbs. With four sections, this is the largest bronze monument on the west coast, and the only monument in the country dedicated to Civil Rights [sic]... Highlights the accomplishments of 25 global humanitarians..." /// "$7 million monument, featuring 25 famous people who fought for peace or human rights. They're an unlikely crew, ranging from Winston Churchill to Malcolm X to Harvey Milk to Mother Teresa. 'People don't usually pay attention to public artwork. But the artwork that people get excited about - it's big,' said Oakland artist Mario Chiodo, 48, who until now was best known for his horror masks and Las Vegas sculptures. 'If I had my way, it would have 300 people. But you've got to start someplace.'" /// N.B.: Official groundbreaking took place June 20, 2011.

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- June 23, 2014 - Center for Civil & Human Rights (CCHR), 100 Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard (at Penberton Place & Centennial Olympic Park Drive), Atlanta, Georgia (USA). 2.5-acre site. "...connects the American Civil Rights Movement to today’s Global Human Rights Movements... The Center was first imagined by civil rights legends Evelyn Lowery & former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young & was launched by former Mayor Shirley Franklin." /// "Executive Director is Doug Shipman. "commemorates not only the groundbreaking contributions of Atlantans & Georgians to the historic struggle for African-American freedom & equality, but also serves as a space for ongoing dialogue, study & contributions to the resolution of current & future freedom struggles of all people at local, national & international levels." (Pemberton Place is home of the Georgia Aquarium, and the World of Coca Cola and is adjacent to Centennial Park which commemorates Atlanta's hosting of the 1996 Olympic Games.)

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September 20, 2014. - Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR), Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada). "First national museum outside of the Canadian Capital." /// "Following the experiences of Bilbao and Valencia, this Canadian city hopes to draw tourists to an architecturally significant project." Designed by American architect Antoine Predock. "Perhaps the most transformational project before our nation today. As the largest centre of its kind anywhere, it has the potential to be one of Canada’s most significant contributions to promoting human rights here and around the world."

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