UN General Assembly
1988

Science, which records and synthesizes thousands of human experiences, which draws its sustenance from the knowledge of many, which is the result essentially of the most noble exercise of the human mind, should become the common heritage of mankind in order to enlighten and ennoble rather than to produce wealth and well being for a few at the cost of the hunger, the destruction and the death of the rest. On 10 December we shall be commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With the sitting of that charter of freedoms, human rights became a universal concern, and all States entered into a solemn commitment to observe them strictly. But genuine respect for those rights is still far from being A universal reality. Although it is recognized that frontiers must not be obstacles to respect for and full exercise of human rights, the safeguards which ensure their effectiveness are difficult to apply and are of questionable usefulness.