HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	155
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

RECOGNIZING HAWAII AS A HUMAN RIGHTS STATE.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, December 10, 2012, marks the sixty-fourth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was spearheaded by the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt and based on policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms"; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the rights of all peoples and encompasses a broad spectrum of economic, social, cultural, civil, political, and collective rights; and

 

     WHEREAS, this anniversary provides an opportunity to call attention to human rights violations that occur around the world and to continue to promote the importance of educating the citizens of Hawaii about human rights; and

 

     WHEREAS, a human rights state serves as a model for communities around the world to witness practical ways the human rights framework can make every citizen a partner of sustainable social change; and

 

     WHEREAS, the state public school system has partnered with the Hawaii Institute for Human Rights to create courses that teach students about human rights issues; and

 

     WHEREAS, a human rights state is one whose residents and local authorities, through ongoing discussions and creative exchanges of ideas, come to understand that human rights, when widely recognized as a way of life, assist in identifying the issues and inform the actions in the communities of the State, for meaningful and positive economic and social change; and
     WHEREAS, developing human rights states is an attempt to build infrastructure for conflict prevention, human security, and sustainable development, and to create a place for active civic engagement at the local, national, and global level; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii will be declared among the first human rights states in the United States, building upon the human rights city movement, which includes Washington, D.C.; and

 

     WHEREAS, as a human rights state, Hawaii will be joining human rights cities around the world in working to provide leadership and advocacy to secure, protect, and promote human rights for all people; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature recognizes Hawaii as a human rights state; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the mayor of each county, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Report Title: 

Human Rights State