Cambridge to Celebrate World Human Rights Day

The City of Cambridge and local members of Amnesty International plan to celebrate Human Rights Day today, commemorating the 38th anniversary of the United Nations Human Rights Declaration.

The City Council voted last week to recognize the international celebration in Cambridge, urging city residents to "note this special day, to share in its observance, and, on every day, to work to promote the protection of human rights," in an order sponsored by Mayor Walter J. Sullivan.

However, Sarah Wunsch, director of the Cambridge Human Rights Commission, said the city has not organized other commemorative events this year. She said the two-year-old commission plans to sponsor a week-long program during next year's anniversary, but she said "the commissioners thought we ought to have a program that was locally relevant" and that "we needed more time" to plan the celebration.

"It's a time for all of us to reflect on how important human rights are in Cambridge and around the world, and to rededicate ourselves to their observance in practice as well as in principle, which is often difficult," said City Councillor David E. Sullivan.

The Cambridge-based area chapter of Amnesty International plans to hold a reception at the Boston Children's Museum, featuring films on abuses in Chile and Sri Lanka. Two former "prisoners of conscience," Victor Davidof of the Soviet Union and Lu-Shi Lin of Taiwan, are scheduled to speak.

Boston's Human Rights Commission observed the anniversary on Saturday with a conference on human rights. Speakers included former Soviet dissident Yuri Orlov, Assistant Secretary of State for Humanitarian Affairs James Montgomery, and Dith Pran, the Cambodian journalist whose survival under Pol Pot's regime was documented in the film, "The Killing Fields."

Tatiana Yankelevich, daughter of Soviet dissidents Yelena Bonner and Andrei Sakharov, also addressed participants.

Excerpts from the conference will be shown on Cable Channel 22 today at 1 p.m.