Washington, DC – Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson will submit the following statement for the record tomorrow, on the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations:

Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sixty years since its inception, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights continues to be a foundation for the protection of rights and a statement to the world that human rights abuse is an abomination to the human race.

On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration was established in response to the horrific religious and racial bigotry of World War II.  The declaration represented the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. This declaration expresses to the world that human rights are not just a principle for the few, the wealthy, or for those who live in economically developed nations - human rights are universal and for all humankind.

Today, we still live in a world where people murder their neighbors over religion, the color of their skin, and national ideologies. This is unacceptable. It is my hope that we as a world of nations can settle our differences through dialogue and treat our each other with dignity and respect. 

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and a senior member of the Science Committee. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which, includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.