ACT Justly: Valedictory Address of Professor Cees Flinterman
| DOI | 10.1177/016934410802600209 |
| Published date | 01 June 2008 |
| Date | 01 June 2008 |
| Subject Matter | Part C: Appendices |
Netherlands Q uarterly of Human R ights, Vol. 26/2, 271–280, 2008.
© Netherlands I nstitute of Human Rig hts (SIM), Printed in the Net herlands. 271
PART C: APPENDICES
ACT JUSTLY*
Valedictory Address of Professor Cees Flinterman**
Utrecht University School of Law
Dear colleague s, friends, and family,
Ladies and gentlemen,
1. INTRODUCTION
At the end of t his year the Universa l Declaration of Human R ights will tu rn 60. It is
to be hoped that the Declaration wil l not choose t he option of early retirement, but
fortunately t here is an i mportant dierence bet ween the Declarat ion and professors
of human r ights. e latter come and go, but the Universal Declaration will remain.
When in 1968 the 20 th anniversary of the Decla ration was celebrated the First World
Conference on Huma n Rights held in Tehran underscored the i mportance of the
Declaration by referring to it as a source of binding obligations for all states. In 1988 the
Netherlands Ins titute of Human R ights (SIM) and the M aastricht Centre of Hu man
Rights orga nised an internationa l workshop on the occa sion of the 40th an niversary
of the Declaration. It came to the conclusion that the Declaration had lost nothing
of its vitality and that it had maintai ned its fund amental importance as a common
standard of achievement for all peoples and al l nations aimed at the promotion and
protection of human rights, notwithstanding far-reaching changes in the international
system and environment which have occurre d since 1948.1 It is in that light that we,
time and aga in, ask our students, w ho presently at Utrecht University come from
all parts in the world, to discuss the leg itimate and intriguing question of whet her
the Universal Dec laration should be rewritten. And time and agai n it is striking and
very encouragi ng to note that every new class of students shares the opinion that the
* Inspired by Micah 6:8 ‘… what doth t he Lord require of thee, but t o do justly, and to have mercy…’,
King James Version, Pengu in Books, 2006 , p. 1219.
** Professor of human rig hts, Director of the Net herlands Ins titute of Hum an Rights (SIM) and t he
School of Human R ights Research (1998–2007), t he Netherlands.
1 e Universal Decla ration of Huma n R ights: Its Sig nicance in 1988, SIM S pecial No. 9, SIM,
Utrecht, 1989, p. 83.
To continue reading
Request your trial