"The right to life and to the freedom of speech, conscience and religion are at the core of the human rights system." Nevertheless, "these rights are too often neglected to give place to subjects considered politically more convenient and only when the voices of those deprived of the right to vote or discriminated against become too loud not to be listen to they are given the attention they deserve". That is what Mgr. Celestino Migliore, Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations in New York, denounced at the 63rd General Assembly on the activities of the Organisation which is being held two months before the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Humans Rights. "Only by respecting human life from conception until natural death, and the conscience of all believers, we can promote a conscious and respectful world," said Mgr. Migliore in a speech released today by the Holy See Press Office. Remembering the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People by the General Assembly last year, the Vatican delegate exhorted "to pursue a common engagement for a better understanding between governments and indigenous communities."
