Speech #910124915

Mr. President. 19 human rights conventions and covenants designated to implement the universal declaration of human rights. adopted on December 10. 1948. have been embraced by the United Nations General Assembly. and many have been ratified by member nations. However. only two of these have been ratified by the United States: the supplementary convention on the abolition of slavery in 1967 and the convention concerned with the protocol relating to the status of refugees in 1968. Other conventions which have been submitted to the Senate for approval are: the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. the Convention Concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organizeboth submitted in 1949 by President Truman. the Convention on the Political Rights of Women and the convention concerning the abolition of forced laborboth submitted in 1963 by President Kennedy. and. finally. the convention concerning discrimination in respect of employment and occupation submitted by President Johnson. Having ratified only two conventions. the United States ranks very low among the 126member nations of the United Nations.