Former Zambian president Dr Kenneth Kaunda broke down in tears as he told a conference in Dublin at the weekend about the millions of African children orphaned by HIV/Aids, including 900,000 in his own country.
A prominent figure in Africa's anti-colonial struggle, 81-year old Dr Kaunda brought the crowd to its feet when, thumping rhythmically on the table and in a voice choking with emotion he sang: "Sons of Africa, rise and fight/ Girls of Africa, rise and fight/In the name of greater Africa/We shall fight and conquer Aids."
Dr Kaunda was a keynote speaker at the seventh annual Non-Governmental Organisation Forum on Human Rights organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Croke Park. This year's themes were "Human Rights and Development and Corporate Social Responsibility."
"I am delighted to be in Ireland, the land of St Patrick, the great evangelist who helped to spread Christ's message in this country. For our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves," Dr Kaunda said.
"The neighbour referred to in this commandment is not described in terms of anything artificial such as tribe, race, ethnicity or even religion, but any human being. In my humble view, this was an important lesson in human rights, because if we love other people as we love ourselves, we cannot abuse or violate their rights. Human rights are sacrosanct and therefore inviolable."
Quoting the words of former president and UN human rights commissioner Mary Robinson that "human rights are inscribed in the hearts of people", Dr Kaunda said she was "an indomitable advocate for the respect of human rights".
He said children were entitled to a full range of human rights and must not be used in war situations or engaged in child labour. "This is important so that our children are nurtured into responsible adulthood. Children are our most valuable resource," he added.
Africa was facing many challenges, including poverty, underdevelopment, ignorance and diseases, such as malaria, TB and HIV/Aids. "Most of our people live in abject poverty and may not therefore fully enjoy their rights," he said.
"With the scourge of HIV/Aids, which has taken the lives of millions of our people in the last two decades, especially the young in the prime of their lives, most of our families have been impoverished. And where a surviving spouse also dies, children become orphans."
At this point, Dr Kaunda broke down and wept, before continuing: "The problem of orphans in Africa is increasing by the day. Most of them have no homes. They live on the streets where they face the harsh realities of being homeless. They are exposed to many dangers which any child should not face."
Minister of State for Development Co-operation and Human Rights Conor Lenihan announced a 15 per cent increase to €2.9 million in the Government's funding of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
"The need to increase the resources available to the OHCHR was highlighted in the recent report of the United Nations secretary general, 'In Larger Freedom'. Ireland is already a leading contributor to the OHCHR and I am delighted to be able to respond to the secretary general's appeal with this substantially increased contribution. Given the high commissioner's emphasis on enhancing the office's field capacity, I have asked that a portion of this funding be committed to OHCHR's field offices in developing countries," Mr Lenihan said.
UN deputy high commissioner for human rights Mehr Khan Williams said there had been "a historical disconnect" between the human rights and development communities but now they were coming closer.