Among Trump’s flurry of moves was one that has received little attention — he has withdrawn US participation and support for the UN Human Rights Council.
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One of the disquieting awkwardnesses of the later stages of life is the realization that there now are many important concepts and institutions that are younger than you are.
For example, you might say that people my age are older than human rights.
That somewhat shocking assertion is based in the fact that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights wasn’t issued by the UN until late 1948, after we early Baby Boomers had already toddled onto the scene.
It is a tragic reality of human history that it took until the end of World War II for the world to get around to taking such an elemental step toward equality and justice.
Then again, women only got the right to vote in the U.S. a century ago, and racial segregation persisted into the 1960s. Sexism and racial discrimination remain embedded structurally in our society to this day.
The achievement of full human rights anywhere on the planet remains elusive and aspirational, which is why the work of advocacy organizations devoted to exposing human rights abuses is so important.
Lately I’ve become newly curious about origin of our basic concepts of human rights. Historians have long traced it back to 539 BC, when Cyrus the Great conquered the city of Babylon, freed the slaves, and declared that people should have a choice in their religion.
This inspired many of the reforms in Greece, Rome and India — ancient societies that advanced the rights and freedoms of people beyond what previously had been known.
It was many centuries later before further advances like the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1776.
That occurred just over the equivalent of three of my lifetimes ago. We still have a long way to go as a species, but there is some small comfort that over the past 76 years, we’ve made some progress inside the U.S. on civil rights, women’s rights, gay and lesbian rights (if not along the entire spectrum of gender and sexuality), disability rights, and discriminatory practices like ageism, bullying, religious extremism and many other forms of hate.
But all of those advances are now under systematic assault by the Trump administration. His war on DEI is in fact an attempt to backtrack on all of this progress. In that context, and it is no surprise that Trump withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council.
He is leading our country backwards. It is up to those of us who recognize this to block his way.
HEADLINES:
Vance questions authority of US judges to challenge Trump (BBC)
The courts stand between Musk and a Treasury takeover (Financial Times)
Why Federal Courts May Be the Last Bulwark Against Trump (NYT)
Trump says he expects Musk to find billions in Pentagon waste (Reuters)
Trump Has Disturbing Response to DOGE’s Massive Overreach of Power (TNR)
Musk's "move fast, break things" ethos threatens U.S. security (Axios)
How the tactics Musk brought to Washington backfired at Twitter (AP)
Trump to announce 25% steel and aluminum tariffs in latest trade escalation (Reuters)
How the UN is responding to Trump saying he'll withdraw support (CBC)
U.S. intelligence, law enforcement candidates face Trump loyalty test (WP)
Consumer financial watchdog is ordered by acting director to stop fighting financial abuse (CNN)
'No thanks': White South Africans turn down Trump's immigration offer (Reuters)
The Minority Voters Who Love Trump’s Dismantling of DEI (WSJ)
ICE fears prompt foreign workers and students to keep visas close (Axios)
US and China teeter on edge of trade war as tariff deadline looms (Financial
Kurdish officials fear Islamic State revival as US aid cuts loom (Guardian)
Trump says he has spoken to Putin about ending the Ukraine war, NY Post reports (Reuters)
Jordan, home to millions of Palestinians, fears Trump’s Gaza proposal (WP)
No One Wants the Trump Resistance Celebrity to Come Back. Unless Maybe It’s Him. (Slate)
Buffy Sainte-Marie stripped of prestigious Canadian honor (NPR)
What DeepSeek? Big Tech Keeps Its A.I. Building Boom Alive. (NYT)
Nazi Hopes Elon Musk Antisemitism Apology As Disingenuous As It Seemed (The Onion)
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