A beacon of hope: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70

The Declaration provides clear standards that can serve as the foundations for a path to global peace, so fragile in today's world yet gives us freedom of spirit and cannot be taken for granted. The Declaration can help improve life chances and living standards for all. In the words of legendary John Lennon, "Imagine" what can be achieved to create a less divided and more harmonious world environment.

Most important, we need to heed the words of Distinguished Australian Dr Herbert V Evatt, President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1948 to 1949, and who presided over the Assembly that adopted this landmark document.

Dr Evatt said that the Declaration would remain a dead letter if the people are unfamiliar with it, or uninterested in it, but it can become effective if the people stand behind it and, insist that themselves and all others observe the principles in it.

Eleanor Roosevelt, a driving force in creating the UDHR, was known for saying that the document, which expresses ideals, "carry no weight unless the people know them, unless the people understand them, unless the people demand that they be lived."

Ms Roosevelt also said that human rights begins in small places close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. "Unless these rights have meaning there", she said, "they have little meaning anywhere."

So relevant in today's world, it is sometimes easy to forget that in the rush to be more efficient and effective, real reform starts at the basic needs level, from where it will ripple out, not just materially but by measures of newfound hope, confidence and freedom.

The world has become a global village and is now populated with global citizens. As we move through the 21st century, the world has become more interdependent and interconnected. Global corporations, institutions, the political elite and the rising economic powers of East Asia, provide a new mix of political and economic relationships on the world stage.

Sometimes in achieving the economic dream and following the economic imperative, whether it be market led or a Welfare State, communities can lose sight of basic human principles, such as human rights and the fundamental democratic freedoms, the less fortunate are denied.

Certainly there are differences between what is possible and impossible and a gap between expectations and reality.

However, for the betterment of humanity, we all have a shared responsibility and with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as an inspiration, together we can create a better world for all in the wonderful spirit of humanitarian mateship.