We, Liberals from all over the world, assembled at the Congress of the Liberal International in Ottawa, September 9-12, 1987, 40 years after the adoption of the Liberal Manifesto and the foundation of the Liberal International, proclaim that:
– as men and women are born free, unique and of equal worth, regardless of their race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status;
– as respect for human dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms goes far back in different historical, cultural and religious traditions;
– as the struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms was the origin, still is and will remain the core of liberalism;
we therefore call on all men and women all over the world to join efforts in the struggle for the establishment, extension and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a universal scale.
The liberal position past and present
We liberals :
– recall that liberalism was born as a liberty movement directed against royal absolutism, lack of spiritual freedom, aristocratic privileges and economic regulations, in order to protect the individual against any concentration and abuse of power and to ensure his or her right to control power and participate in government, advocating
– personal freedom, guaranteed by the independence of the administration of law and justice,
– freedom of worship and liberty of conscience,
– freedom of speech and of the press,
– freedom to associate or not to associate;
– recall that liberals were always convinced that these rights and conditions can be secured only by true democracy. True democracy is inseparable from political liberty and is based on the conscious, free and enlightened consent of the majority, expressed through a free and secret ballot, with due respect for the liberties and opinions of minorities;
– recognise that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms was for the first time constitutionally acknowledged though the American Bill of Rights, the French Declaration des Droits de l’Homme and the Constitution of Cadiz, to be continued later in several modern constitutions, e.g. the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
– reaffirm once more our faith in the enduring validity of the fundamental liberal principles defined in the Oxford Liberal Manifesto of 1947 as well as the Liberal Declaration of of Oxford of 1967 and the Liberal Appeal of Rome 1981;
– emphasise the universal significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, December 10, 1948, as well as the two International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights respectively on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, December 16, 1966 and as a consequence thereof the establishment of the Human Rights Committee;
– regret, however, that the international instruments and institutions to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms are not provided with the necessary powers to enforce measures against violations upon national governments;
– deplore the fact that two-thirds of the world population are deprived of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms;
– recognise that technical development is offering humanity necessary and useful instruments to create a better and more dignified life and also new opportunities to threaten and abuse human rights and fundamental freedoms;
– declare that the development of society in all nations necessitates a continued struggle for the establishment, extension and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms;
– emphasises that the struggle for human rights should be non-violent. Violence will always threaten the core of human rights and thereby the durability of democratic society when put under severe pressure. We acknowledge, however, the right to armed defence of democracies and of national sovereignty as well as the right to armed liberation from oppression and deprivation of human rights when peaceful means have been exhausted and if these acts are, in themselves, not a violation of human rights.
Achievements, threats and challenges today and tomorrow
We liberals :
– welcome the fact that protection and development of human rights appear to have gained universal recognition both by the continued codification and development of human rights in international fora e.g., the United Nations and repeated reference to human rights in national constitutions, although far too many governments in reality refuse to meet their obligations;
– welcome the genuine popular struggle for human rights in accordance with international instruments referred to above, which is growing and gaining support in East and West, North and South, e.g. Amnesty International, Charter 77 and Human Rights Commissions in Latin America;
– recall that in Europe Portugal, Spain and Greece returned to the family of democratic nations during the 1970’s;
– welcome the fact that Latin America has seen the victory of liberal democracy over military dictatorships in a number of countries, although the new leadership is still far from being firmly established;
– honour the Philippine people for their courageous and non-violent struggle under the leadership of Mrs Corazon Aquino against the dictatorship of President Marcos enabling the establishment of democracy and human rights.
We liberals :
– are concerned, however, that human rights and fundamental freedoms are neglected and violated by left-wing and right-wing, theocratic and military regimes all over the world, too often under the false claim of securing national order and security and social and economic development;
– are worried about the growing fundamentalism, mostly religious, all over the world which often openly rejects basic liberal values e.g. freedom of the individual, freedom of thought and information and the open society;
– are deeply concerned about the growing wave of anti-semitism and neo-Nazism which are – as revealed by the world’s bitter experience in recent history – a grave threat to the very existence of democracy, and will take public steps and effective measures wherever necessary against these tendencies in all countries including our own;
– are concerned about the growing number of people persecuted, arrested with legal cause, illegally detained, disappeared, tortured, executed and forced to leave their country by their respective governments;
– are equally concerned about denial of the right to leave their country imposed on individual citizens and minorities of totalitarian states;
– are worried about the development whereby more and more states are closing their borders to asylum-seekers, thereby denying refugees the right to seek asylum against persecution and repression of human rights;
– are concerned about the growing racism and xenophobia in many countries blaming immigrants, refugees and minorities by making them scapegoats for economic and social decline and for cultural and social unrest;
– condemn all forms and acts of terrorism and, while recognising the rights and duties of societies and the international community to combat terrorism, request all governments having to take measures against terrorism to do so with a minimum of limitation of human rights and with strict time limits;
– are worried about the possibilities of abusing the achievements of technical progress and research thereby threatening the privacy and the dignity of the individual human being, especially in fields such as electronic data registering and genetic engineering;
– are concerned about the possible conflict between economic growth and mankind’s right to live in a sound environment where air, water and soil are protected against misuse and pollution.
We liberals :
– demand new efforts to abolish the death penalty and the use of torture in all countries and under all circumstances;
– urge all states to pursue a liberal and generous policy towards refugees and asylum-seekers forced to leave their country of origin mainly or partly because of persecution and violation of human rights;
– claim that the lack or comparatively slow economic social development in totalitarian and many developing countries is caused by the denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In a society where men and women are guaranteed personal freedom and the exercise of human rights, they are most encouraged to develop their initiative, effort and responsibility to the benefit of themselves, their society and future generations, Human rights are a condition for economic and social progress and for political stability not only in countries having already achieved a high level of economic development but also those regions of the world suffering from under-development and economic stagnation;
– urge all industrialised countries to increase their efforts to support developing countries with generous development aid designed to promote democratic development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Ways and means to action – how the liberal international can act on human rights
We liberals :
– proclaim that the future of liberalism lies therefore first and foremost with its ability to lead the battle for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the world;
– expect all liberals and liberal parties, whether inside or outside government, to take the lead in promoting and developing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in their respective countries;
– invite all liberals and all liberal parties to initiate and participate in campaigns in favour of individuals, groups and minorities deprived of their human rights and in campaigns in favour of democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
– request all liberals and liberal parties to support in solidarity liberals who are working under difficult political conditions and who need moral, political and practical support;
– expect all liberals and liberal parties to urge their governments to exert all forms of pressure that can bring about the speedy and total dismantling of apartheid and the creation of a non-racial democracy in South Africa;
– expect all liberals and liberal parties to urge their governments to support developing countries with development aid which promotes democratic development and respect for human and fundamental freedoms;
– expect all liberals and liberal parties to urge their governments to promote multilateral initiatives in the East-West, North-South and world-wide contexts in order to strengthen further the existing international human rights instruments, including the introduction of international sanctions against grave and constant violations of their standards;
– reaffirm the proposal of the 1978 LI Congress in Zürich for the creation of an International Court on Human Rights;
– urge all liberals and liberal parties to urge those governments concerned to ratify the International Convention of 1984 against Torture, thereby abolishing torture worldwide;
– demand that all liberals and liberal parties urge their governments to promote a convention against the death penalty worldwide.
We liberals finally,
demand that the Executive Committee of LI sets up a working group to monitor the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and more specifically with the tasks :
– to follow up the relevant Congress resolutions;
– to encourage member parties and groups to take national and international actions;
– to collect and distribute information about liberal activities in the human rights field in cooperation with the Liberal Groups of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament;
– to promote campaigns aiming at specific cases where liberals are involved;
– to report regularly through the Executive Committee to the Congress of Liberal International.
