Leilani Farha, the nebulous nong from the United Nations has gone, leaving lefties all afroth. “Goodness me”, they proclaim, “did you hear what she just said?”
“No, what was it?”
“Adequate housing is a human right, and this country’s gone and let everyone down! She said it’s right there in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:”
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”
Are you suspicious, fellow right-wing nut-jobs? You should be; look at those patriarchal pronouns, all ‘him’ and ‘his’ as though ‘hers’ and ‘theys’ didn’t exist. Disgraceful.
The envy-mongers of Socialism don’t mind these things – they’ll take unearned reward over egregious gender assumptions any day – leaving the complaining till much later. It’s just a matter of bedding-in the rewards first, salivating like Pavlov’s dogs in anticipation of something for nothing before finding a hangover offence in the wording of the initial offer.
It’s hocus-pocus Socialism to believe such rubbish – it doesn’t exist: the world of everybody-owes-me-a-bleedin’-house. It does not exist, except in the deluded minds of Utopian dreamers the type of which now populate the NZ Human Rights Commission, those whom seem to have taken the bait, hook, line and sinker, proclaiming in a tsunami of tweets their support for the uninformed opinion of the UN’s oh so “Special Rapporteur”.
An especially adroit reader may have noticed that under Article 25 not only is “housing” a ‘right’, but so is food, and clothing. Does that mean you can waltz into the local chippery, order oysters and say “I have a human right to food; bill the UN’? Of course not. The UN itself specifically makes this clear in their explainer: “Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70: 30 Articles on 30 Articles – Article 25”:
“The first requirement listed in Article 25 as being necessary for “a standard of living adequate for… health and wellbeing” is food. A former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, observed that “the right to food does not mean handing out free food to everyone.”
Bloody obvious, really. Unless you’re completely stupid, completely Stalinist, or work for the NZ Human Rights Commission.
What the UN actually intended was as explained in their “Fact Sheet No.2 (Rev.1), The International Bill of Human Rights:
“The Declaration consists of a preamble and 30 articles, setting forth the human rights and fundamental freedoms to which all men and women, everywhere in the world, are entitled, without any discrimination”.
Or, as described in the actual Declaration:
“without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”
And that, dear readers, both of you, is what the UN intended: that there should never be discrimination by race, sex, or politics etc in access to resources; that there should be an equal playing field. It doesn’t guarantee or anticipate an equal result, and the Declaration of Human Rights certainly does not intend, as does our very ‘Special Rapporteur’, that others should be forced to pay for your personal wants.
You see; it’s a hierarchy, the Declaration (although the UN insists the Articles should all be read together). Let’s face it, Article 3’s:
“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person”
Rates a lot higher, way higher, to most people than Article 23.4:
“Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.”
And what the nebulous nong forgets completely is a priori Article 17’s:
“1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.”
And, perhaps more importantly:
“2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.”
Yet that is what our Special Rapporteur recommends; that people be deprived of property rights deemed excess to their own needs, for the betterment of others without. No ownership rights unless approved by the Special Soviet Rapporteur, her utterings endorsed by the NZ Human Rights Commission it seems:
“it is time the right to housing was wrenched from the hands of the private market.”
The zealousness of NZHRC may be forgiven if it was equally cheerleading for all Articles of the Declaration of Human Rights. As readers of this outlet well know and understand, to the point of agitation, is that NZHCR cares too much for stupid, wishful, readings of the Declaration and not one whit for the truly important, and tangible:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
For which Article they will not put a foot forward, not one. Cowards.
Bon voyage; Special Rapporteur, don’t let the door dent your derriere on the way out.
If you enjoyed this BFD article please consider sharing it with your friends.
