Human Rights Day 2007

Just 59 years ago the human race witnessed the birth of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 10^th of December is still commemorated in numerous countries around the world as Human Rights Day.

“Each and every person from around the world is to be respected and acknowledged for the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled. These rights, which we know to not always be respected, include the right to life and liberty within each person’s social sphere. We also stand for the right to freedom of thought and expression, and most especially equality before the law.”

Thanks to the work of many medical students from around the world we have been able to present this to you in languages other than English.

Arabic - Anas Eid and Nada Qawasmi

Traditional Chinese – Eric Tam

Simplified Chinese - Eric Tam

English – Jonathan Mamo

French – Zied Khediri and Skander Mzah

German - Annika Hanning
Hebrew - Ephi Sachs

Italian – Federico Longhino and Claudia Amadasi

Japanese – Taketo Tanaka

Maltese – Daniel Azzopardi and Jonathan Mamo

Polish – Beata Syzdul

Portuguese - Geisa Graziela Perez

Spanish – Rebecca Molina

Swedish – Johanna Norenhag

The IFMSA.org link:

http://www.ifmsa.org/ifmsa/activities/standing-committees/scorp/human-rights-day-2007/

Please forward to your relevant servers wherever possible. The statement will be forwarded to IFMSA's Partners and External Organisations by the respective Liaison Officers as has always been done in the past; however, should you wish us to forward this statement to any people or organisations in particular please do let us know!

If you would like the document to be translated to your language for when we send the documents to our external partners please do contact us as soon as possible!

Regards,

Jon. - on behalf of the SCORP Team!

P.S. Once again thanks to all those who made these translations possible.

Jonathan P. Mamo MD

Director on Human Rights and Peace Issues (SCORP-D) '07 - '08

International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA)

UNIVERSAL CHILDREN'S DAY

On the annual occasion of Universal Children's Day, the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) would like to call upon all the people and the governments around the globe to keep up their commitment towards the welfare of children. Let us keep to our promise as stated in the Fourth Millennium Development Goal and act to reduce the mortality rate among children under five, by two thirds.

Dear IFMSA - 20th of November 2007 - UNIVERSAL CHILDREN'S DAY!

Please follow the link to the ifmsa.org website to download the document if you cannot access it from this e-mail.

http://www.ifmsa.org/ifmsa/activities/standing-committees/scorp/scorp- statements/
or

http://www.ifmsa.org/ifmsa/activities/standing-committees/scorp/scorp- statements-page/

The statement is also available in the following languages:

Arabic - translated by Anas Eid (IFMSA-Palestine)

Dutch - translated by Mahsa Montazeri (IFMSA- the Netherlands)

German - translated by Christoph Bader (BVMD Germany)

Portuguese - translated by Thatyana Ernani (IFLMS Brazil)

Spanish - translated by Dani Rodriguez (IFMSA-Spain)

English - "translated" by Jonathan Mamo and with the help of numerous Officials and SCORPions.

By resolution 836(IX) of 14 December 1954, the General Assembly recommended that all countries institute a Universal Children's Day, to be observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children. It recommended that the Day was to be observed also as a day of activity devoted to promoting the ideals and objectives of the Charter and the welfare of the children of the world. The Assembly suggested to governments that the Day be observed on the date and in the way which each considers appropriate. The date 20 November, marks the day on which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.

Thanks to all those who helped in the creation of this statement...

Peace,

Jon.

Jonathan P. Mamo MD
Director on Human Rights and Peace Issues (SCORP-D) '07 - '08
International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA)

_______________________________________________________

On the annual occasion of Universal Children's Day, the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) would like to call upon all the people and the governments around the globe to keep up their commitment towards the welfare of children. Let us keep to our promise as stated in the Fourth Millennium Development Goal and act to reduce the mortality rate among children under five, by two thirds.

Every year, over 10 million children live and die before they reach their fifth birthday. This means 30,000 children every single day. Most of these children live in developing countries and die from a disease or multiple illnesses that could be treated or prevented easily. Malnutrition contributes to over half of these deaths. And we have not yet mentioned the problems with child trafficking, child prostitution, child labor exploitation and slavery.

Children are the seeds of our world’s future. They symbolize our prosperity and our immortality. Any yet we still see countless examples by which children are abused and maltreated. IFMSA is bound to help, wherever possible, to promote better welfare and a better future for children of all ages and races.

IFMSA’s Standing Committee on Human Rights and Peace (SCORP), over the past few years, has extensively focused on projects and activities regarding children, with special emphasis on refugees and illegal migrants. These projects have ranged from Christmas parties in refugee camps to basic health care, from children’s art exhibitions to education meetings and social events of all kinds. Countless projects have been set up over the years to raise awareness amongst school children regarding important issues such as conflict prevention, refugees and asylum seekers, and reproductive health.

This year, IFMSA will be collaborating with the WHO to further enhance medical education with regards to pediatrics. This “global survey on pediatric curricula” aims to ensure a greater understanding of pediatric diseases and health care requirements by the doctors of tomorrow.

Being the voice of medical students worldwide, IFMSA and its members have always felt their responsibility in improving the life of the younger generation, regardless of their social status and country of origin.

IFMSA is one of the largest student organizations in the world with over one million members in over 100 countries worldwide and is recognized as the international voice of medical students around the globe. IFMSA has been in official relations with the WHO since 1969 and is partnered with numerous organizations including both UN Agencies and other student organizations. IFMSA’s activities include over 8,000 medical student exchanges a year and a wealth of student-led projects which fall into four main fields of interest: medical education, public health, human rights and peace, and reproductive health including HIV/AIDS. Many IFMSA activities have the ultimate motive of and preventing conflicts through friendship and increased global understanding.

On Behalf of the IFMSA Team of Officials 2007 – 2008

My definition of SCORP

By Skander M’zah

SCORP is the Standing committee on Human right and peace.

In all SCORP’s session or SCORP’s works we hear about:

The right to self-determination
The right to Autonomy
The right to life, liberty and security of person
The right to family support
The right to a nationality
The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
The right to respect of the private life
The right to justice
The right to safety
The right to protection against torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
The right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state
The right to own property alone as well as in association with others
The right to education
The right to rest and leisure

All of these are human rights and it’s logical to talk about it in SCORP sessions but don’t all of these rights aim to one goal? To one fundamental right, “Right to happiness”. So this committee is made to promote happiness. But sometimes we forget that. We want to make lots and lots of projects just to feet on the theory of this committee works. We forget that our goal is trying to make people reach happiness.

When someone say “I’m a doctor” most of the time he insists on the “I” and less on “Doctor”. But before being a doctor or a benevolent, you were and even if you are a doctor you are also a person. The problem is that people focus more on their person than on their job. We invest more on the role than on the function.

Frank Ostaseski said: “Helping others gives us power and a respectability which we need. We collect them in weekend like wages. But if we aren’t careful, this identity will become our prison and the prison of those we serve. In fact if I want to help, I have to find somebody who needs assistance!”

I want to insist on this point HELP. The helper is most of the time seen like the one who has the power. There is a difference between HELP and SERVE

Frank Ostaseski also says: “In helping you are aware of your power but you don’t use it for serving cause you serve with what you are. Helping is creating an unequal relation an unbalanced exchange. You decrease by this way the vision of the own value and the own regard of the one you are helping… Helping creates a debts but serving is reciprocal.”

I worked for a long time with children with cancer and after going out for the hospital I feel recognition and not satisfaction. I feel recognition because these children with their innocence with their pain made stronger and more aware of the value of life and of every second on earth. They gave to my life a goal, a direction and consistency. They gave me more than I gave them and more than I could never give them. These children show me how to live my life and how to really LIVE. When you serve someone you serve with all your being with your scars and your strength. Helping and serving are different visions of life.

If you look after someone you have to be able to bring with you, your pain, your sorrow, your passion and your whole being. You have to destroy the wall between you and this person. You have to destroy the wall that separates helper from helped. Because this exploration of your own suffering is what creates a bridge between you and the person you are serving. When you want to really serve someone you serve him with your compassion. And compassion means “suffering” (passion) “with” someone (con) and it’s quite different from pity which is suffering “for” someone. Pity is really negative for you and the one you serve. We shouldn’t see our job like “repairing” people because when you repair something you admit that this thing is broken. Repairing includes a judgement which separates you from this person and creates a distance. When you help you see the broken and negative parts you see the weaknesses. When you serve you understand that this person’s suffering is also your suffering, his pain is your pain, and his smile is your smile. At this moment you serve this person with your whole compassion. When we serve someone we are aware that we can be useful and we want to be useful under the service of the totality.

By this text I want to beg all SCORPions and all the benevolent to serve with their heart. And as Frank Ostaseski said: ”All of us know that a big part of happiness is contained on giving”.

I want you to believe in human fundamental kindness. And even if someone is malicious you must think that he is not and this normal way of being he is nasty because he is suffering.

Even if the sky is grey, sun still shine under the clouds.

Skander M’zah

International Women Day

Article written by Jonathan P. Mamo (Malta)

SCORP celebrates Human Rights day within its respective NMOs by organising activities which have some form of relationship, be it direct or indirect, to a particular group of human rights. Each project strives to be as successful as possible and in most cases the results are phenomenally positive. I was reading through this blog the other time and had to ask myself… WHY was this day chosen? And what was it initially chosen to represent? So to answer this question I conducted some research and came up with the following;



Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10th of December. The date was chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on the 10th of December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first global enunciation of human rights. The UN’s General Assembly invited all interested organisations to celebrate the day as they saw fit. The day is a high point in the UN calendar and is normally marked by political conferences, meetings and by cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues. Many governmental and non-governmental organisations, such as the IFMSA, active in the human rights field, also schedule special events to commemorate the day. The theme of the day for 2006 was the fight against poverty as a human rights issue.

Human Rights are concerned with the relationship of people with their society. It involves the rights and responsibilities that the society affords and the duties and obligations that are implied. Every woman, man and child has the human right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, without discrimination of any kind. Enjoyment of the human right to health is vital to all aspects of a person's life and well-being, and is crucial to the realization of many other fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Promoting and protecting health and respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights are inextricably linked. Violations or lack of attention to human rights can have serious health consequences such as expressed in the issues of slavery, torture and violence against women and children – these, unfortunately, being ever present in our advancing societies. Vulnerability to ill-health can be reduced by taking steps to respect, protect and fulfil human rights (e.g. the right to health, food, nutrition, education and housing). In learning about human rights, we learn about ideas of respect, fairness, justice and equality. We learn about standing up for our own rights and about our responsibility to respect the rights of others. There are a number of basic rights that people from around the world have agreed on, such as the right to life, freedom from torture, other cruel and inhuman treatment, rights to a fair trial, free speech, freedom of religion, and the right to health, education and an adequate standard of living.

The attainment of human rights for all will be achieved only when each individual acknowledges the validity of these rights. Therefore, an understanding of human rights begins with the individual. Recognizing one's own basic human rights is the first step in the quest for achieving human rights for all. It is IFMSA’s role to educate both other medical students and also our respective communities about these basic rights. We are also duty bound to support other NGOs which work towards the same common goal.

And now… in just a few days time, on the 8th of March, the UN celebrates its next big event; International Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace – the one day chosen for a global celebration for the economic, social, political and scientific achievements of women. Whether you’re a woman or not; celebrate this day because without women none of us would be here to promote the rights which belong to us all. So make a difference, think globally and act locally! Make everyday an International Women's Day. Let’s all do our bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal and safe. For more information about the event please do browse the site http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Art without borders

Written by Albert Delia, sent by Claude Bajada (Malta).

Like almost all other such initiatives, art without borders was born in pretty much the same way; an idea uttered during one of the organisation’s meetings. In a chorus of opinionated voices one pensively said “How about an art exhibition for refugee and local children?” The pint glasses went down slowly on the table tops and the bar saw for a brief moment a short period of contemplative silence, before again the voices started again, this time however following a single stream of thought.

The idea started gathering its own momentum and practically started moving perpetually, propelled by a lingering sense of smiling satisfaction everyone who came in contact with it was awarded after having helped. Although this article is intended to promote the opening of the exhibition on the 10th of December, and its duration till the 17th of the same month, I feel that it is only fitting that the readers know what was happening behind the scenes.

Most saw squiggles, stick figures, brightly (and at times mismatched) colours filling in the patchwork of simple yet expressive shapes that signify so much to a child’s mind. Others analysed scrupulously the subtexts of these paintings and, like a title-less book, tried to figure and read the contexts of the young hand out of which it came; and rightly so.

However, to those that were there drawing with the children, these little masterpieces are considerably more value-laden, since in addition to the memories the paintings themselves hold, with them are also those shared during our little makeshift art lessons. The assistance we got from people we met at times by chance was overwhelming, so to all those who helped; thank you.

The aim of our exhibition was always that of integration, inspiration and (to a degree) entertainment. The children, both those local and not, started originally drawing individually and finally together on the very day of the opening of the exhibition. This meeting of diverse youthful experiences is to commemorate Human Rights Day on the day of the opening of the exhibition.

The children themselves always greeted us with expectant smiles (at times toothless ones too). Enthusiastic shouts of “More paper please!” filled the air most of the time. Concentrated glances stared at coloured sheets contemplating on the next creature that will shortly inhabit their rainbow coloured lands. At times their passion inspired us too, catching the occasional adult scribbling away at his little canvas wasn’t a rarity; pictures screamed nostalgia. Soon we became the messengers to old St Nick being given requests for paint brushes, paints and paper for Christmas, not to mention the new friends we’ve made along the way. As much of a cliché as some of the above is I really do have to say that there really was some Christmas spirit lingering in the air.

However, kids will be kids, there can’t a painting lesson without the occasional a poster coloured smudged face, an unplanned palm print on a wall, a paint stain on one’s shirt, irony is the kids where cleaner then I was. As I write what you are reading, behind me lies a stack of paintings, a month’s worth of Sunday afternoons, although I believe that the worth of these sheets is considerably more profound then just the time spent on them, 30 of them will be exhibited. Side by side the works of younger versions of yourself will be hung for public display each little artist having his own individual and diverse back-story. Stories spreading across continents and savannas, as well as stories from the villages we all know so well. This truly was an experience of collaboration through the universal language that is art.