Statement from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to celebrate Human Rights Day
សាររបស់អគ្គលេខធិការ Secretary-General’s Message
Fri the 1st Waxing Moon of Māgasira B.E.2559, December 11, A.D.2015 Year of the Goat
Download message in Khmer, here: Secretary-General_Speech_on_HRD_2015
Amid large-scale atrocities and widespread abuses across the world, Human Rights Day should rally more concerted global action to promote the timeless principles that we have collectively pledged to uphold.
In a year that marks the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, we can draw inspiration from the history of the modern human rights movement, which emerged from the Second World War.
At that time, President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States identified four basic freedoms as the birthright of all people: freedom of expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. His wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, joined forces at the United Nations with human rights champions from around the world to enshrine these freedoms in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Today’s extraordinary challenges can be seen – and addressed – through the lens of the four freedoms.
First: freedom of expression, which is denied to millions of people and increasingly under threat. We must defend, preserve and expand democratic practices and space for civil society. That is essential to lasting stability.
Second: freedom of worship. Around the world, terrorists have hijacked religion, betraying its spirit by killing in its name. Others are targeting religious minorities and exploiting fears for political gain. In response, we must promote respect for diversity based on the fundamental equality of all people and the right to freedom of religion.
Third: freedom from want still plagues so much of humankind. World leaders in September adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with the aim of ending poverty and enabling all people to live in dignity on a peaceful, healthy planet. Now we must do everything possible to realize this vision.
Fourth: freedom from fear. Millions of refugees and internally displaced persons are a tragic product of the failure to fulfil this freedom. Not since the Second World War have so many people been forced to flee their homes. They run from war, violence and injustice across continents and oceans, often risking their lives. In response, we must not close but open doors and guarantee the right of all to seek asylum, without any discrimination. Migrants seeking an escape from poverty and hopelessness should also enjoy their fundamental human rights.
Today we reaffirm our commitment to protecting human rights as the foundation of our work. This is the spirit of the UN’s Human Rights up Front initiative, which aims to prevent and respond to large-scale violations.
On Human Rights Day, let us recommit to guaranteeing the fundamental freedoms and protecting the human rights of all.
Ban Ki-moon
Angkor Wat Yields Astounding Buried Towers & Spiral Structure
Courtesy Live Science
Eight buried towers and the remains of a massive spiral structure created from sand have been discovered at Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Today, the spiral structure is hard to make out on the ground, having been obscured by modern features and vegetation.
By examining the mile-long spiral structure and the stone towers, researchers date them back to when Angkor Wat was first built in the 12th century A.D. [See Photos of the Spiral Structure and Buried Towers at Angkor Wat]
King Suryavarman II had Angkor Wat built as a Hindu temple to the god Vishnu. The temple has a 213-foot-tall (65 meters) central tower that is surrounded by four smaller towers and a series of enclosure walls. The layout “is considered to correspond with the cosmology of Mount Meru and the surrounding Sea of Milk from which ambrosia was churned by the gods and demons,” wrote a research team in an article published this month in the journal Antiquity.
Antiquity recently published a special section dedicated to the latest archaeological research at Angkor Wat.
Spiral mystery
The spiral structure is difficult to make out from the ground, and archaeologists found it using LiDAR — a laser-scanning technology that allows scientists to detect structures obscured by vegetation or modern development.
When surveyed on the ground the structure turned out to be made of “archaeologically sterile banks of sand,” meaning it contained no artifacts from the past, wrote archaeologists Damian Evans, a researcher with École française d’Extrême-Orient, and Roland Fletcher in an Antiquity article.
Courtesy Live Science
“Quite how the spirals functioned is not at all clear,” Evans and Fletcher wrote. One possibility is that it is a garden that provided the temple with produce for rituals and eating, the spiral patterns possibly having a spiritual significance.
Evans and Fletcher found that the spiral structure was not in use for long. A canal that cut through the spiral design was built later in the 12th century.
“The spiral features would only have been functional for a brief period during the mid-to-late twelfth century A.D.,” Evans and Fletcher wrote. They say that it’s possible the spiral structure was never completed.
Buried towers
Another discovery, made using ground-penetrating radar and archaeological excavation, are the remains of what appear to be eight demolished towers constructed out of sandstone and laterite (a type of rock). They were found on the western side of Angkor Wat beside a gateway across the moat.
The dating is not entirely clear but it appears that many of the towers were created during the early-to-mid 12th century when Angkor Wat was being constructed.
Archaeologists found that some of the towers form a series of squares that may have supported one or more structures. They also found that many of the towers were constructed before the gateway wall.
They theorize that the towers could have supported a shrine that was in use while construction of Angkor Wat was underway.
“The configuration of the buried ‘towers’ contains the unique possibility that a shrine was built on the western side of the Angkor Wat platform during the period when the main temple was being constructed,” a research team wrote in an article published in Antiquity.
Once the main temple was constructed and work on the gateway across the western moat began, the shrine could have been torn down, researchers say.
More discoveries
Archaeologists uncovered several other secrets of Angkor Wat. For instance, the LiDAR survey revealed the remains of homes and ponds that would have been used by workers who serviced the temple.
Additionally, researchers found that later in Angkor Wat’s history — after it had been converted to a Buddhist temple — the site was turned into a military fortification with wooden structures being built to defend the moated site.
“Angkor Wat is the first and only known example of an Angkorian temple being systematically modified for use in a defensive capacity,” Fletcher said. The fortification of it was “one of the last major constructions at Angkor and is perhaps indicative of its end.” Courtesy Live Science
Our Rights, Our Freedoms, Always
Human Rights Day 2015
10 December
Thu the 15th Waning Moon of Kattikā B.E.2559, December 10, A.D.2015 Year of the Goat
Fifty years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted two international treaties that would forever shape international human rights: The International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
សិទ្ធិរបស់យើង។ សេរីភាពរបស់យើង។ ជានិរន្ដរ៍។
Created in the aftermath of WWII, the two Covenants along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights became the International Bill of Human Rights setting out the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights that are the birth right of all human beings.
High Commissioner Video Statement — Human Rights Day 2015
Since that time a fundamental sea change has occurred across the world, with many countries recognizing human rights and the rule of law as the basis for truly resilient and stable societies.
The Two Covenants – More Relevant Today Than Ever
Yet, challenges remain.
FREEDOM, underpins the International Bill of Human Rights – freedom from fear, freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom from want.
Fifty years on, many people are still unaware of the existence of the International Bill of Human Rights and many countries around the world still have much to do to build political institutions, judicial systems, and economies that allow ordinary people to live with dignity. The growth of hate speech against religious and racial minorities, the justification of rights violations in the name of combatting terrorism, the clawing back of economic and social rights in the name of economic crises or security, and the failure to respect the right to privacy in the digital age, show the relevance of the two Covenants and the need to respect them.
To promote and raise awareness of the two Covenants on their 50th anniversary, the UN Human Rights Office is launching on Human Rights Day “Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always.” a year-long campaign to shine a light on the inalienable and inherent rights of global citizens — now, and always.
“Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always.” revolves around the timeless themes of rights and freedom and the relevance of the work that continues in securing and ensuring them. At its core, FREEDOM, underpins the International Bill of Human Rights – freedom from fear, freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom from want.
On Human Rights Day, we invite you to join in celebrating 50 years of freedom as embodied in the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). These four freedoms are as relevant today as they were when the Covenants were adopted.
Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always. Courtesy ohchr
For Human Rights Day on 10 December – Pledge to uphold freedoms, UN human rights experts urge States
Human Rights Committee and Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights urge universal ratification of international treaties
Wed the 14th Waning Moon of Kattikā B.E.2559, December 9, A.D.2015 Year of the Goat
Geneva (8 December 2015) – UN experts have urged all States to ratify two key human rights treaties that celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2016, as a concrete commitment to the freedoms enshrined in the texts.
The experts’ call comes as the UN Human Rights Office prepares to launch a year-long campaign to promote and raise awareness of the two treaties – the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
The treaties were adopted by the UN General Assembly on 16 December 1966 and have to date been ratified by 168 and 164 States respectively – eight States have ratified only one Covenant and 27 States have ratified neither*.
“The two Covenants, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, set out the inalienable rights of all human beings. In the half century since the Covenants were adopted, many countries have changed their laws and policies, and the lives of countless people have improved, but the pressing challenges of our age show the continued relevance of the treaties and the need to respect them,” said Fabian Salvioli, Chair of the Human Rights Committee.
“States should show the absolute commitment of the international community to human rights by achieving universal ratification of the Covenants for the 50th anniversary,” he added.
“We call on States to protect and promote all human rights, and for those that are not parties to the two Covenants, to ratify them as a matter of utmost importance. Governments need to manage their economies but a financial crisis should not be an excuse to overturn economic, social and cultural rights,” said Walid Sadi, Chair of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
“The two Covenants together are a main pillar of the human rights system and the foundation for the enjoyment of all rights,” he stressed.
The campaign by the UN Human Rights Office is entitled “Our Rights, Our Freedoms, Always.” It focuses on the timeless themes of rights and freedom, in particular freedom from fear, freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom from want, and the work that continues to secure and ensure them. Courtesy ohchr
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
សេចក្ដីប្រកាសជាសកលស្ដីពីសិទ្ធិមនុស្ស
Mon the 12th Waning Moon of Kattikā B.E.2559, December 7, A.D.2015 Year of the Goat
Download Khmer version here, Khmer UDHR
សេចក្ដីប្រកាសជាសកលស្ដីពីសិទ្ធិមនុស្ស The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Courtesy the United Nations
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives
Video Message of Thach Setha on DEC 02
After leaders’ rhetoric, climate negotiators start work on deal
Tue the 6th Waning Moon of Kattikā B.E.2559, December 1, A.D.2015 Year of the Goat
Reuters
By Barbara Lewis and Bate Felix
Courtesy National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
PARIS (Reuters) – With encouragement from 150 world leaders ringing in their ears, government negotiators in Paris sought on Tuesday to turn that rhetoric of unity into the text of a global deal to slow climate change.
United Nations Climate Change Conference Kick-Off
Mon the 5th Waning Moon of Kattikā B.E.2559, November 30, A.D.2015 Year of the Goat
World leaders pose for a family photo at the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Le Bourget, outside Paris, Monday, Nov. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Jacky Naegelen)
World leaders launched an ambitious attempt on Monday to hold back the earth’s rising temperatures, with French President Francois Hollande saying the world was at “breaking point” in the fight against global warming.
Some 150 heads of state and government, including U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, urged each other to find common cause in two weeks of bargaining to steer the global economy away from its dependence on fossil fuels.
They arrived at United Nations climate change talks in Paris accompanied by high expectations and armed with promises to act. After decades of struggling negotiations and the failure of a summit in Copenhagen six years ago, some form of landmark agreement appears all but assured by mid-December. (Reuters)
ASEAN MPs call on Cambodian government to end persecution of opposition
សមាជិកសភាអាស៊ានអំពាវនាវរដ្ឋាភិបាលកម្ពុជាបញ្ឈប់ធ្វើទុក្ខបុកម្នេញលើបក្សប្រឆាំង
Mon the 5th Waning Moon of Kattikā B.E.2559, November 30, A.D.2015 Year of the Goat
Jakarta, 30 November 2015 – The Cambodian government must immediately reinstate Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) President Sam Rainsy and Vice President Kem Sokha to their positions in the National Assembly, drop all charges against Rainsy, and take measures to ensure the security and freedom of opposition MPs and activists, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said today.
(more…)
គម្ពីរព្រះត្រៃបិដក ភាសាអង់គ្លេស The Tipitaka
Sat the 3rd Waning Moon of Kattikā B.E.2559, November 28, A.D.2015 Year of the Goat
Download The Tipitaka
Tripiṭaka
(Pali: Tipiṭaka) is a Sanskrit word meaning Three Baskets. It is the traditional term used by Buddhist traditions to describe their various canons of scriptures.[1] The Tripiṭaka traditionally contains three “baskets” of teachings: a Sūtra Piṭaka (Sanskrit; Pali: Sutta Pitaka), a Vinaya Piṭaka (Sanskrit and Pali) and an Abhidharma Piṭaka (Sanskrit; Pali: Abhidhamma Piṭaka).
Courtesy the Buddhanet
The three categories
This section does not cite any references (sources). Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2015)
Tripitaka comprises the three main categories of texts that is the Buddhist canon. The three parts of the Pāli canon are not as contemporary as the traditional Buddhist account seems to suggest: the Sūtra Piṭaka is older than the Vinaya Piṭaka, and the Abhidharma Piṭaka represents scholastic developments originated at least two centuries after the other two parts of the canon. The Vinaya Piṭaka appears to have grown gradually as a commentary and justification of the monastic code (Prātimokṣa), which presupposes a transition from a community of wandering mendicants (the Sūtra Piṭaka period ) to a more sedentary monastic community (the Vinaya Piṭaka period). Even within the Sūtra Piṭaka it is possible to detect older and later texts.
Vinaya
Rules and regulations of monastic life that range from dress code and dietary rules to prohibitions of certain personal conducts.
Mahayana sutras and Sutta Pitaka
The Buddha delivered all His sermons in local language of northern India. These sermons were collected during 1st assembly just after the death of the Buddha. Later these teachings were translated into Sanskrit.
Abhidharma
Philosophical and psychological discourse and interpretation of Buddhist doctrine. Written by Upagupta.
In Indian Buddhist schools
Each of the Early Buddhist Schools likely had their own recensions of the Tripiṭaka. According to some sources, there were some Indian schools of Buddhism that had five or seven piṭakas.
Mahāsāṃghika
The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya was translated by Buddhabhadra and Faxian in 416 CE, and is preserved in Chinese translation (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1425).
The 6th century CE Indian monk Paramārtha wrote that 200 years after the parinirvāṇa of the Buddha, much of the Mahāsāṃghika school moved north of Rājagṛha, and were divided over whether the Mahāyāna sūtras should be incorporated formally into their Tripiṭaka. According to this account, they split into three groups based upon the relative manner and degree to which they accepted the authority of these Mahāyāna texts.[3] Paramārtha states that the Kukkuṭika sect did not accept the Mahāyāna sūtras as buddhavacana (“words of the Buddha”), while the Lokottaravāda sect and the Ekavyāvahārika sect did accept the Mahāyāna sūtras as buddhavacana.[4] Also in the 6th century CE, Avalokitavrata writes of the Mahāsāṃghikas using a “Great Āgama Piṭaka,” which is then associated with Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Prajñāparamitā and the Daśabhūmika Sūtra.
According to some sources, abhidharma was not accepted as canonical by the Mahāsāṃghika school.
The Theravādin Dīpavaṃsa, for example, records that the Mahāsāṃghikas had no abhidharma. However, other sources indicate that there were such collections of abhidharma, and the Chinese pilgrims Faxian and Xuanzang both mention Mahāsāṃghika abhidharma. On the basis of textual evidence as well as inscriptions at Nāgārjunakoṇḍā, Joseph Walser concludes that at least some Mahāsāṃghika sects probably had an abhidharma collection, and that it likely contained five or six books
Caitika
The Caitikas included a number of sub-sects including the Pūrvaśailas, Aparaśailas, Siddhārthikas, and Rājagirikas. In the 6th century CE, Avalokitavrata writes that Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Prajñāparamitā and others are chanted by the Aparaśailas and the Pūrvaśailas.[5] Also in the 6th century CE, Bhāvaviveka speaks of the Siddhārthikas using a Vidyādhāra Piṭaka, and the Pūrvaśailas and Aparaśailas both using a Bodhisattva Piṭaka, implying collections of Mahāyāna texts within these Caitika schools.
Bahuśrutīya
The Bahuśrutīya school is said to have included a Bodhisattva Piṭaka in their canon. The Satyasiddhi Śāstra, also called the Tattvasiddhi Śāstra, is an extant abhidharma from the Bahuśrutīya school. This abhidharma was translated into Chinese in sixteen fascicles (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1646).[9] Its authorship is attributed to Harivarman, a third-century monk from central India. Paramārtha cites this Bahuśrutīya abhidharma as containing a combination of Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna doctrines, and Joseph Walser agrees that this assessment is correct.
Prajñaptivāda
The Prajñaptivādins held that the Buddha’s teachings in the various piṭakas were nominal (Skt. prajñapti), conventional (Skt. saṃvṛti), and causal (Skt. hetuphala).[11] Therefore all teachings were viewed by the Prajñaptivādins as being of provisional importance, since they cannot contain the ultimate truth.[12] It has been observed that this view of the Buddha’s teachings is very close to the fully developed position of the Mahāyāna sūtras.
Sārvāstivāda
Scholars at present have “a nearly complete collection of sūtras from the Sarvāstivāda school”[13] thanks to a recent discovery in Afghanistan of roughly two-thirds of Dīrgha Āgama in Sanskrit. The Madhyama Āgama (Taishō Tripiṭaka 26) was translated by Gautama Saṃghadeva, and is available in Chinese. The Saṃyukta Āgama (Taishō Tripiṭaka 99) was translated by Guṇabhadra, also available in Chinese translation. The Sarvāstivāda is therefore the only early school besides the Theravada for which we have a roughly complete Sūtra Piṭaka. The Sārvāstivāda Vinaya Piṭaka is also extant in Chinese translation, as are the seven books of the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma Piṭaka. There is also the encyclopedic Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣa Śāstra (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1545), which was held as canonical by the Vaibhāṣika Sarvāstivādins of northwest India.
Mūlasārvāstivāda
Portions of the Mūlasārvāstivāda Tripiṭaka survive in Tibetan translation and Nepalese manuscripts. The relationship of the Mūlasārvāstivāda school to Sarvāstivāda school is indeterminate; their vinayas certainly differed but it is not clear that their Sūtra Piṭaka did. The Gilgit manuscripts may contain Āgamas from the Mūlasārvāstivāda school in Sanskrit.[15] The Mūlasārvāstivāda Vinaya Piṭaka survives in Tibetan translation and also in Chinese translation (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1442). The Gilgit manuscripts also contain vinaya texts from the Mūlasārvāstivāda school in Sanskrit.
Dharmaguptaka
A complete version of the Dīrgha Āgama (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1) of the Dharmaguptaka school was translated into Chinese by Buddhayaśas and Zhu Fonian (竺佛念) in the Later Qin dynasty, dated to 413 CE. It contains 30 sūtras in contrast to the 34 suttas of the Theravadin Dīgha Nikāya. A. K. Warder also associates the extant Ekottara Āgama (Taishō Tripiṭaka 125) with the Dharmaguptaka school, due to the number of rules for monastics, which corresponds to the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya.[16] The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya is also extant in Chinese translation (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1428), and Buddhist monastics in East Asia adhere to the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya.
The Dharmaguptaka Tripiṭaka is said to have contained a total of five piṭakas.[10] These included a Bodhisattva Piṭaka and a Mantra Piṭaka (Ch. 咒藏), also sometimes called a Dhāraṇī Piṭaka. According to the 5th century Dharmaguptaka monk Buddhayaśas, the translator of the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya into Chinese, the Dharmaguptaka school had assimilated the Mahāyāna Tripiṭaka (Ch. 大乘三藏).
Mahīśāsaka
The Mahīśāsaka Vinaya is preserved in Chinese translation (Taishō Tripiṭaka 1421), translated by Buddhajīva and Zhu Daosheng in 424 CE.
Kāśyapīya
Small portions of the Tipiṭaka of the Kāśyapīya school survive in Chinese translation. An incomplete Chinese translation of the Saṃyukta Āgama of the Kāśyapīya school by an unknown translator circa the Three Qin (三秦) period (352-431 CE) survives.
In the Theravada school
The complete Tripiṭaka set of the Theravāda school is written and preserved in Pali in the Pali Canon. Buddhists of the Theravāda school use the Pali variant Tipitaka to refer what is commonly known in English as the Pali Canon. Courtesy wikipedia
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