LISTEN
In the early 21st Century Human Rights abuses were rampant worldwide. In major cities like Honk Kong, New York, Moscow, Paris, New Delhi and Buenos Aires demonstrations were a daily occurrence. Governments used suppression tactics by deploying police , paramilitary and military forces to kill, injure and jail protesters. The violence escalated in many nations until the situation become untenable.
In 2036, the United Nations passed an amendment to the Universal Bill of Human rights making this statute enforceable. Governments that violated the rights of their own citizens were cut off from military and economic aid, including the Western democracies who were at times the worst offenders.
The NGO Amnesty International was given funding and a new mandate to independently monitor situations of civil unrest within any country, so as to enforce the revised human rights bill.
Over time, these measures diffused tension in many nations, as people participating in political movements gained confidence that their rights were protected. The politics of violence and confrontation morphed into an environment of engagement and compromise.
This Ballad, sung by political protesters of all stripes, reminds us that human rights abuses cross all political and national boundaries.
