December 10, 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year’s theme is Freedom, Justice and Equality for All. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Before this declaration, the idea of everyone being entitled to rights was not universal.
The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 and set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. (Credit: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights)
Some of these rights are:
- Civil rights (such as the rights to life, liberty and security),
- Political rights (like rights to the protection of the law and equality before the law),
- Economic rights (including rights to work, to own property and to receive equal pay),
- Social rights (like rights to education and consenting marriages),
- Cultural rights (including the right to freely participate in a cultural community), and
- Collective rights (like the right to self-determination).
Those rights did not necessarily extend to the military. In fact, when the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was passed into law in 1982, the military were an exception to many of the freedoms and rights civilians were granted.
Women were not allowed in combat roles until Isabelle Gauthier, Marie-Claude Gauthier, Georgina Anne Brown and Joseph Houlden, all members of the Canadian Forces, filed a complaint under the Canadian Human Rights Act claiming discrimination based on sex. In 1989, following a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling, the Canadian Forces opened all occupations, including combat roles, to women. LGBTQ servicemen and women were purged from the military during the Cold War due to expressed concerns about blackmail and national security. In 1992, a court challenge led to the reversal of these discriminatory practices. And in 2023 CAF members can take complaints about sexual misconduct, harassment or discrimination directly to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
Rights for military personnel continue to evolve and change as the military evolves and changes. I look forward to seeing the future changes.
On December 10, celebrate 75 years of universal human rights!
Wishing you all a season of joy and happiness.
Karen Young, Museum Manager
