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‘Free and equal’

CFC spotlights human rights

The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed more than 70 years ago.

The Combined Federal Campaign’s cause of the week is human rights.

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood,” reads the first of the 30 articles of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

That declaration was proclaimed more than 70 years ago. And yet the 2021-22 annual report from human rights watchdog Amnesty International found the following:

• 43 percent of countries have introduced new laws to stop people from peacefully expressing their rights.

• 55 percent use excessive or unnecessary force against demonstrators.

“2021 should have been a year of healing and recuperation,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary general.

“Instead, it became an incubator for deeper inequality and greater instability, a legacy caustic for years to come.”

If this turn for the worse is a matter of concern to you, the website for the campaign, also known as the CFC, makes it easy to help:

• Under “CFC Giving System” on the homepage, choose “online charity search.”

• In the “Find A Charity” section, you’ll see “Select a Specific Category. While there is no specific human rights category, there are many that touch on it. A few to try are “Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy,” “International, Foreign Affairs & National Security” and “Public & Societal Benefit.”

The Combined Federal Campaign is the federal government’s workplace charity drive.

The latest campaign began September 1 and runs through January 14.

Participation in the CFC is voluntary.

The GiveCFC.org website has more information.

This is the 12th in a series of articles spotlighting the Combined Federal Campaign’s cause of the week. Next week: environmental protection.