From individual rights to national development: The first UN international conference on human rights, Tehran, 1968

Journal of World History

Volumn 19, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 275-296

  Burke, Roland ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CIVIL RIGHTS; CONFERENCE PROCEEDING; NATIONAL PLANNING; REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT; UNITED NATIONS;

ASIA; EURASIA; IRAN; MIDDLE EAST; TEHRAN [IRAN];

EID: 67749142178     PISSN: 10456007     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (118)

1. In an extreme example, the Soviet Union objected even to the standard "hearts and fl owers" resolution that thanked the conference hosts.
2. A copied transcript was obtained from the UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library, New York.
3. There are a limited number of academic works that refer to the conference; see Moses Moskowitz, International Concern with Human Rights (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana Publications, 1974), pp. 13-23;
4. Geoffrey Robertson, Crimes against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice (London: Allen Lane, 1999), p. 32;
5. Maurice Cranston, What Are Human Rights? (London: Bodley Head, 1976), p. 76;
6. and Keith D. Suter, An International Law of Guerrilla Warfare (London: F. Pinter, 1984), pp. 28-35.
7. International Commission of Jurists, United Nations Conference on Human Rights: Report by Miss Muireann McHugh, approved by Mr. Sean McBride, Secretary-General, S.2021, 21-22. Excerpts reproduced in Moskowitz, International Concern with Human Rights, pp. 179-180.
8. Ibid., ICJ Report, p. 22.
9. For details of the various regional and individual contributions to the Universal Declaration, see Mary Ann Glendon, A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (New York: Random House, 2001);
10. Mary Ann Glendon, "The Forgotten Crucible: The Latin American Infl uence on the Universal Human Rights Idea," Harvard Human Rights Journal 16 (2003): 27-39;
11. Johannes Morsink, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origins, Drafting and Intent (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999);
12. Susan Eileen Waltz, "Universalizing Human Rights: The Role of Small States in the Construction of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Human Rights Quarterly 23, no. 1 (2001): 44-72;
13. Waltz, "Universal Human Rights: The Contribution of Muslim States," Human Rights Quarterly 26, no. 4 (2004): 799-844;
14. and Waltz, "Reclaiming and Rebuilding the History of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Third World Quarterly 23, no. 3 (2002): 437-448.
15. Peter Willetts, The Non-Aligned Movement: The Origins of a Third World Alliance (New York: F. Pinter, 1978), pp. 106-109.
16. Veteran UN delegate and observer Conor Cruise O'Brien locates the turning point at around 1957; see O'Brien, To Katanga and Back: A U.N. Case History (London: Hutchinson, 1962), p. 22.
17. Report on the Third Committee of the General Assembly: 14 October-22 December 1952, 7 April 1953, 20-21. NARA, 320.13/14-753, RG 59, Box 1294.
18. 10 Ibid., p. 20.
19. Ibid., p. 21.
20. The Third World's role in the Convention on Freedom of Information is addressed in detail by Kenneth Cmiel, "Human Rights, Freedom of Information, and the Origins of Third World Solidarity," in Truth Claims: Representation and Human Rights, ed. Mark Bradley and Patrice Petro, pp. 107-130 (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2002).
21. Summary Records of the Third Committee of the General Assembly, 198th Meeting, 22 April 1949, UN Document A/C. 3/SR. 198. This approach to the control of information would be refurbished in the 1970s, with Third World proposals for a "New World Information Order."
22. John Humphrey, A. J. Hobbins, and Louisa Piatti, On the Edge of Greatness: The Diaries of John Humphrey, First Director of the United Nations Division of Human Rights (Montreal: McGill University Libraries, 1994), 2:129.
23. Ibid., 2:135.
24. See also Memorandum of Conversation, by James Simsarian of the Offi ce of United Nations Economic and Social Affairs, Position of United States Concerning Draft Covenant on Human Rights in ECOSOC and General Assembly, 29 May 1951 Washington. Reproduced in Foreign Relations of the United States: 1951, vol. 2, The Western Hemisphere-United Nations Affairs.
25. Glendon, A World Made New, quoting Malik, p. 207.
26. See also Malik's comments in a radio interview with Roosevelt in May 1950. Although widely considered one of the West's best friends in the General Assembly, Malik was scathing in his appraisal of Western conduct in the human rights program. "Mrs. Roosevelt, you always caution us in the commission to go slowly and to be careful because the great nations have their own problems. ⋯ Now I have the highest respect for the responsibilities of the US and of France and of the United Kingdom, and certainly without their leadership in this fi eld, we wouldn't move along. But I have the feeling at times, that they are moving a bit too slowly, the present world situation requires, simply requires, that they take the lead far more vigorously than they have done so far . ⋯ The world situation, madame, is such that you've got to move faster and you've got to lead the rest of the fi eld more than you have been doing so far." He concluded his statement with a sharp warning: "If you don't lead the rest of the world," Malik declared, "there are others who will lead it." Radio Transcript, "Today with Mrs. Roosevelt," 14 May 1950, p. 11.
27. Charles Malik Collection, Library of Congress, Manuscript Reading Room, Box 39, File 8, Correspondence, Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1947-1960.
28. This was a theme Humphrey returned to a number of times. In his diary entry of 17 November 1950, he again expressed his frustration at the lack of Western leadership. "My diagnosis remains the same. The great powers by their failure to accept their responsibilities lost leadership in the committee to countries like Mexico (Noriega), Pakistan (Bokhari) and Saudi Arabia (Baroody)." Humphrey was also highly critical of the consequences that fl owed from Western neglect, and the rise of the so called "little politicians." "The Arab bloc together with India (Mrs. [Lakshmi] Menon) have provided the leadership which the U.S.A., the U.K. and France abdicated; and that leadership has been incompetent, mediocre and irresponsible. My language is strong but not too strong. Little politicians have played havoc with great humanitarian questions." Humphrey, On the Edge of Greatness, 2:129, 131, 133, 143, 167; 4:15.
29. Ibid., 2:288.
30. Ibid.
31. Robert Q. Quentin-Baxter, "International Protection of Human Rights," in Essays on Human Rights, ed. Kenneth James Keith, pp. 132-145 (Wellington: Sweet & Maxwell, 1968), p. 137.
32. Regarding the Bricker campaign, see generally, Carol Anderson, Eyes off the Prize: The United Nations and the African American Struggle for Human Rights, 1944-1955 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), pp. 226-227;
33. Richard Davies, Defender of the Old Guard: John Bricker and American Politics (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1993). For archival material on Dulles's change of policy with respect to the covenants, see for example, Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for United Nations Affairs (Hickerson) to the Secretary of State (Dulles), American Foreign Policy and the Promotion of Human Rights through the United Nations, 9 February 1953; Secretary of State to the Consulate General at Geneva, For Mrs. Mary Lord: Statement before Senate Judiciary Committee, 6 April 1953; and USUN Press Release, Statement Made by the United States Representative (Mary Lord) before the Commission on Human Rights, Geneva, 8 April 1953. Reproduced in Foreign Relations of the United States: 1952-1954, vol. 7, United Nations Affairs.
34. Office Memorandum, Committee Three Activities-Delegate and Staff Comments, 27 December 1957, p. 2. NARA, 320.13/12-2757, RG 59, Box 1270.
35. Ibid., p. 4.
36. Ibid.
37. Ibid.
38. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, General Assembly Resolution 2106 (XX), 21 December 1965, [cited 10 August 2006]. Available from http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d- icerd.htm.
39. Computerized and graphic voting was introduced to the UN in 1968.
40. Reza Pahlavi, The White Revolution (Tehran: Kayhan Press, 1961). Content of the editions vary with the prevailing political views of the shah. Criticism of the one-party state, for instance, was revised extensively after the shah established one in 1975.
41. Manouchehr Ganji, Defying the Iranian Revolution: From a Minister to the Shah to a Leader of Resistance (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2002), p. xxv.
42. It would have been absurd to boycott in protest, given that they had installed the Pahlavi regime in the fi rst place.
43. U Thant, Address by Secretary-General in Commemoration of Twentieth Anniversary of Adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, At International Conference on Human Rights, Tehran, 22 April, Advance Text, 19 April 1968. UN Document SG/SM/932/HR/135, 1. UN Archives, S-0198, Box 1, Social Matters 1/1/1963-31/12/1973.
44. See also Press Statement by Secretary-General on Departure from Tehran, 23 April 1968, UN Document SG/T/198. S-0883, Box 18, File 8, U Thant Trip to Tehran, Iran, International Conference on Human Rights, 20-23 April 1968. For details of Thant's decision to reject human rights petitions presented to UN offi ces, see Press Release from Secretary-General, 22 December 1969, UN Document, SG/SM/1200.
45. Note for the Secretary-General on the Opening of the International Conference on Human Rights, 22 April 1968, 1.
46. See also Note for the Secretary-General, Proposed Programme for the Opening Meeting of the International Conference on Human Rights, 22 April 1968. S-0883, Box 18, File 8.
47. See generally, Peter Schwab, Africa: A Continent Self-Destructs (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001); and Martin Meredith, The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence (London: Free Press, 2005).
48. Verbatim text of address by His Imperial Majesty the Shahinsha Aryamehr, International Conference on Human Rights, 3. S-0883, Box 18, File 8.
49. Ibid.
50. The speech strongly resembles passages in Pahlavi's book, and some of the phrases are close to identical. See White Revolution, pp. 21, 170-171.
51. Department of State Telegram, Secretary of State, to US Delegation (UN), information to Mission (Tehran), 1 December 1970, USUN 3411, para. 4. NARA SOC 14 UN, Box 3040.
52. See also Department of State Telegram, Mission (Tehran) to Secretary of State, 3 December 1970, Tehran 5190. NARA SOC 14 UN, Box 3040.
53. Summary Records of the UN International Conference on Human Rights, 1st Plenary Meeting, 22 April 1968, A/CONF. 32/SR. 1, Conference President Ashraf.
54. Ashraf Pahlavi, Faces in a Mirror: Memoirs from Exile (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1980), p. xii.
55. See for example, Ehsan Naraghi, From Palace to Prison: Inside the Iranian Revolution (London: I. B. Tauris, 1994), pp. 50, 53.
56. For Pahlavi's response to the various allegations, see Pahlavi, Faces in a Mirror, pp. 189-190, 216-217.
57. Pahlavi, Faces in a Mirror, p. 174.
58. 14th Plenary Meeting, 30 April 1968, A/CONF. 32/SR. 14, Mauritania.
59. Ibid. Similar claims were at the center of debate twenty-fi ve years later, at the second World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna (1993).
60. See, for example, the statements in the Regional Preparatory Conferences in Tunis and Bangkok, Article 5, UN Final Declaration of the Regional Meeting for Africa of the World Conference on Human Rights, 2-6 November 1992.
61. A/CONF.157/AFRM/14, A/CONF.157/PC/57, 2; UN Final Declaration of the Regional Meeting for Asia of the World Conference on Human Rights, 29 March-3 April 1993. A/CONF.157/ASRM/8, A/CONF.157/PC/59, 5.
62. 4th Plenary Meeting, 24 April 1968, A/CONF. 32/SR. 4, Philippines.
63. 14th Plenary Meeting, 30 April 1968, A/CONF. 32/SR. 14, Pakistan.
64. 18th Plenary Meeting, 4 May 1968, A/CONF. 32/SR. 18, Argentina.
65. A. James Gregor, "African Socialism, Socialism and Fascism: An Appraisal," Review of Politics 29, no. 3 (1967): 324-353;
66. and Gregor, Italian Fascism and Developmental Dictatorship (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1979).
67. Ibid. For a detailed account of the developmental dictatorship ideology from one of its foremost advocates and practitioners, see Mohammed Ayub Kahn, Friends Not Masters: A Political Autobiography (London: Oxford, 1967).
68. Parviz C. Radji, In the Service of the Peacock Throne: The Diaries of the Shah's Last Ambassador to London (London: H. Hamilton, 1983), p. 84.
69. 4th Plenary Meeting, 24 April 1968, A/CONF. 32/SR. 4, Iran.
70. Peter Avery, "Iran: Cultural Crossroads for 2,500 Years," UNESCO Courier, 24 October 1971, p. 9.
71. 5th Plenary Meeting, 24 April 1968, A/CONF. 32/SR. 5, Ethiopia. Later in 1968, Selassie issued a breathtakingly hypocritical press release on the importance of human rights and constitutionalism to celebrate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration. See Message from Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, on Observance of International Year for Human Rights, 17 December 1968, UN Document HRD/72. S-0084, Box 3, File 1, Human Rights-General Correspondence.
72. United Nations Conference on Human Rights, Proclamation of Tehran, 13 May 1968, A/CONF. 32/41. Reproduced in "United Nations Conference on Human Rights, Tehran, 22 April to 13 May, 1968: Proclamation of Tehran," American Journal of International Law 63, no. 3 (1969): 674-677.
73. Ibid.
74. Roosevelt was recognized for her contribution to the Universal Declaration as part of the twentieth anniversary celebrations, being posthumously awarded the UN Human Rights Medal. See Assembly President Announces Winners of First United Nations Human Rights Prizes, 2 December 1968, UN Document GA/3836/HR/209. S-0198, Box 2, File 9 Human Rights-General Correspondence.
75. Memorandum of Discussion at the 456th Meeting of the National Security Council, National Security Implications of Future Developments Regarding Africa, 18 August 1960. NARA, Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records, in FRUS, vol. 14, 1958-1960.
76. Memorandum of Discussion at the 432nd Meeting of the National Security Council, 14 January 1960. NARA, Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records, in FRUS, vol. 14, 1958-1960.
77. Memorandum of Discussion (456th Meeting).
78. Meyer had an astute sense of the new UN mindset. This perverse logic was later codifi ed in the early 1970s, when the UN determined that its sole metric of social harmony was the presence or absence of protest. See Daniel P. Moynihan, August 1972 cable, reproduced in William F. Buckley, United Nations Journal: A Delegate's Odyssey (Putnam: New York, 1974), p. 258.
79. US Mission, Tehran, to Secretary of State, info US Mission United Nations, New York. Re: Washington Demonstration and Tehran, 6 March 1968, Tehran 3631, para. 2. NARA, SOC 14, 1/1/68.
80. Department of State, info US Mission Tehran, US Mission United Nations, New York. For Ambassador Meyer from Popper, 7 March 1968, 126411. NARA, SOC 14, 1/1/68.
81. Ibid.
82. 4th Plenary Meeting, 24 April 1968, A/CONF. 32/SR. 4, United States. Meyer noted that the "statement received extraordinary applause and much congratulatory comment: demand for copies far outran anticipation. Wilkins had already proved an outstanding fi gure at conference. He handled magnifi cently unexpected request by Uganda delegate for moment silence in tribute to Martin Luther King."
83. See US Mission, Tehran to Secretary of State, info US Mission United Nations, New York, Dept. pass to White House, Human Rights Conference, 25 April 1968, Tehran 4344. NARA, SOC 14-3 4/1/68.
84. US Mission Tehran, Human Rights Conference, 25 April, para. 4.
85. Memorandum for the Secretary of State from Joseph J. Sisco, International Organizations, Appointment with Roy Wilkins after His Return from UN Human Rights Conference- Action Memorandum. S/S 6456. NARA, SOC 14-3 4/1/68. Sisco's memorandum offered the highest praise for Wilkins's success in Tehran: "His opening statement for the United States on 24 April met with wide acclaim and will substantially assist our Delegation in projecting a balanced picture of the racial outlook in the United States and American objectives at the Conference. In light of Mr. Wilkins' contribution, I feel that it would be advantageous domestically and internationally for him to meet with the President . ⋯ We have informal indications that this proposal would be well received in the White House."
86. See also Memorandum for the President from Dean Rusk. Proposed Meeting with Roy Wilkins Executive Director NAACP, 26 April 1968. NARA, SOC 14-3 4/1/68.
87. Ibid.
88. US Mission Tehran, Human Rights Conference, 25 April. Wilkins's ability to blunt criticism of the United States was obviously well appreciated by fellow members of the US delegation, as noted by Ambassador Meyer in his report to Secretary Rusk: "1. Roy Wilkins left Tehran April 25 after four very full days of activity at Human Rights Conference culminating in principal US statement April 24. Statement received extraordinary applause and much congratulatory comment: demand for copies far outran anticipation. Wilkins had already proved an outstanding fi gure at conference. He handled magnifi cently unexpected request by Uganda delegate for moment silence in tribute to Martin Luther King."
89. See also Ambassador Meyer's summary of the first week of the conference, in which Wilkins' presence was seen to have protected the US from the criticism it was expecting: "Much of what has been said here so far has been predictable. Major change from anticipated scenario, from our standpoint, has been virtually complete absence of criticism of US over its racial problems and policies. We attribute this to Wilkins' statement and presence. Needless to say, it greatly facilitates our task. We believe impact of Wilkins' activities will continue to be felt throughout conference." US Mission Tehran to Secretary of State, info US Mission United Nations New York, Canberra, Human Rights Conference-Summary, First Week, 26 April 1968, Tehran 4370. NARA, SOC 14-3 4/1/68.
90. Daniel P. Moynihan and Suzanne Weaver, A Dangerous Place (London: Secker & Warburg, 1979), p. 175.
91. Moynihan's generally low opinion of US human rights diplomatic personnel was encapsulated in an infamous August 1972 cable to Secretary of State Kissinger. "One plump-minded American official after another had silently or enthusiastically assented to a prolonged slander on American democracy, a sustained advocacy of totalitarian dictatorship. You know why? Because we sent stupid men and worse women to those conferences. And why did we do this? Because the hard-nose Cold Warriors on the Sixth Floor think such things don't matter." Reproduced in Buckley, UN Journal, p. 259.
92. See also Daniel Patrick Moynihan, "The Politics of Human Rights," Commentary 64, no. 2 (1977): 22;
93. and Moynihan, "The United States in Opposition," Commentary 59, no. 3 (1975), passim.
94. US Mission, Tehran to Secretary of State, info to US Mission, United Nations, New York, Moscow, Human Rights Conference: Russian Moderation, April 1968, Tehran 4398. SOC 14-3 4/1/68;
95. and US Mission, Tehran to Secretary of State, info to US Mission United Nations, New York, Moscow, Human Rights Conference: Friendly Noises from Soviets, 6 May 1968, Tehran 4543. SOC 14-3 5/1/68.
96. Such an arrangement was inherently advantageous to the communist bloc given that the Afro-Asian states were doing much to attack the West by themselves, though there was at least one instance of the Soviets being attacked by an African state that it was, in fact, arming at the time (Nigeria). See 12th Meeting, Second Committee, 8 May, A/CONF.32/C. 2/SR. 12.
97. US Mission, Tehran to Secretary of State, Human Rights Conference-Vietnam, 28 April 1968, Tehran 4402. SOC 14-3 4/1/68.
98. US Mission, Tehran to Secretary of State, info to US Mission United Nations New York, Moscow. Human Rights Conference-Soviet Statement, 2 May 1968, Tehran 4480. NARA, SOC 14-3 5/1/68. See also Meyer's report of a conversation with Soviet delegate Yerofeyev, and his reference to rumors from the UK delegation that there were instructions to escalate from Moscow. Human Rights Conference: Russian Moderation, para. 3.
99. US Tehran, Human Rights Conference: Friendly Noises from Soviets.
100. Ibid.
101. US Mission, Tehran to Secretary of State, info to US Mission, United Nations, New York, Moscow, Human Rights Conference: Final Act, 6 May 1968, Tehran 4567. NARA, SOC 14-3 5/1/1968.
102. US Mission, Tehran to Secretary of State, info to US Mission, United Nations, New York, Human Rights Conference-Second Roundup, Sections 1 and 2, 2 May 1968, Tehran 4507-1, 2. NARA, SOC 14-35/1/68.
103. 3rd Plenary Meeting, 23 April 1968, A/CONF. 32/SR. 3, France.
104. Ibid.
105. Ibid.
106. See, generally, Plenary Meetings, A/CONF. 32/SR. 1-14, statements from the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, and the United States. The United Kingdom was especially vulnerable following conservative MP Enoch Powell's notorious statement on race relations only three days before the conference opened. Powell's speech would be remembered as the "Rivers of Blood" address and brought on his dismissal from Edward Heath's cabinet. See Anthony Lewis, "A Top Tory Fears Black Dominance: Powell Seeks Measures to Help Repatriate Britain's Colored Immigrants," New York Times, 20 April 1968, p. A1. Its major initiative in the preparatory Western Europe and Others caucus had been a resolution on racism; see Department of External Affairs, cable from Australian delegation to the United Nations, New York, U.N.-Human Rights Conference, 29 February 1968, U. 338, para. 2. National Archives of Australia, United Nations Human Rights Commission-Conference on Human Rights Tehran-April 1968, A1838, 929/1/5.
107. 12th Plenary Meeting, 29 April 1968, A/CONF. 32/SR. 12, Czechoslovakia. See also, US Mission, Tehran to Secretary of State. UN Human Rights Conference in Tehran, Enclosure, Czech Speech, Verbatim. Airgram, 1 May 1968.
108. Confidential Code Cable, United Nations New York, Regarding International Human Rights Conference, Tehran, 23 April 1968, ZY225, UNIC Rome, 6. S-0883, Box 18, File 8, U Thant Trip to Tehran, Iran, International Conference on Human Rights, 20-23 April 1968.
109. Statement by Chairman of Commission on Human Rights, Ibrahima Boye, on 20th Anniversary of Declaration of Human Rights, 9 December 1968, UN Document GA/3845/HRD/50, 4.
110. René Maheu, "Message from René Maheu, Director-General of UNESCO. International Year for Human Rights," UNESCO Courier, 21 April 1968, p. 32.
111. Ibid.
112. Seminar on the Study of New Ways and Means for Promoting Human Rights with Special Attention to the Problems and Needs of Africa, 23 October-5 November 1973, Tanzania, UN Document ST/TAO/HR. 48.
113. Quoted in William Korey, "The U.N.'s Double Standard on Human Rights," Washington Post, 22 May 1977, p. 1.
114. Ibid.
115. Ibid.
116. Summary Records of the Third Committee, 43rd meeting (32nd session), A/C.3/32/SR. 43, para. 26.
117. Ibid.
118. Ibid.