Is border crossing for survival a human right?

I was pleased to see Bruce Bachmann’s recent letter about International Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, and his invitation to join him at the Cedar Rapids library on Dec. 7 for what he called the “world’s largest human rights writing campaign.” Mr. Bachmann points to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the U.N. in 1948.

For consideration, I’d like to add the 21st-century U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the important 20th-century declaration. Adopted in 2015, these 17 goals make clear the interconnectedness of human rights, human health, food, planetary health, justice, economic opportunity, peace and more. The writers of the 1948 declaration could not have imagined all that we face in the 21st century, for example, climate change compounding a refugee crisis.

After you have joined Mr. Bachmann and his writing campaign, please join me Dec. 10 at noon online via the website of the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights for a talk by Tom Farer of the University of Denver. Mr. Farer is addressing a crucial question for our time: “Should We Recognize a Right to Cross Borders in Search of a Better Life?” Or you can watch Mr. Farer’s lecture on the UICHR website after the Dec. 10 live event.

Barbara Eckstein

Iowa City