76-16-B3

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Property Rights

Transcript Speaking on British Broadcasting in early May, President Carter pledged anew his commitment to human rights. This was reaffirmation of his call on March 17 to the United Nations General Assembly for creation of a Human Rights Division and the creation of a new post in the United Nations, "High Commissioner for Human Rights". So far so good. But on that March day, he also announced he would ask Congress for approval of his signing the U.N. Covenant on Economic Cultural Rights. One wonders if the President is aware of what his signing of those two covenants would do to one of our most precious rights, the right to ownership of property. Both covenants bar that traditional right. In 1973, the U. N. published a review called "United Nations Action In the Field of Human Rights" It covered everything the U.N. has done in that field since 1948 when the General Assembly adopted a "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". That original declaration stated in article 17 that, "Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property." But there have been some changes since 1948. There is now, in the U.N. a voting bloc of 114 nations, most ruled by Marxist or military dictatorships. This Third World bloc has successfully barred the original Declaration of property rights from being included in the two covenants. As those covenants are written now, it would be contrary to our own Constitution for Congress to ratify and the President to sign them. Our 5th Amendment says that "no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any private property be taken for public use without just compensation." Our 14th amendment prevents any state from making any law which abridges those guaranteed rights. Both U.N. covenants specifically exclude compensation for private property seized for public use. This is in keeping with U.N. Declaration of Permanent Sovereignty adopted in 1962, to which the United States strongly objects. The covenants are of course anti-colonial measures. They are designed to permit expropriation or nationalization of foreign investment. In short, they sanction the right of theft. Notwithstanding the fact that the covenants violate the 5th and 14th amendments to our Constitution, once our Congress and President accept them, they supercede our Constitution. We are unique in all the world in that treaties we enter into become the supreme law of the land. There has been some quibbling about whether the covenants are recognized as treaties. That, however, is answered specifically in the U.N. passage on implementation where it is stated the covenants are indeed regarded as international treaties. Let us hope that before anyone puts pen to paper, they will put in a few hours with a battery of brilliant and persuasive lawyers. Yes, we support the ideal of human rights. And, in our concept of human rights, ownership of private property is included. Indeed, it is basic to our liberty and our pursuit of happiness. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.		Details Batch Number 76-16-B3 Production Date 07/06/1977 Book/Page RihoH-167 Audio Youtube? No
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