The year is
1870. Bullets whiz dangerously through the air as French and German troops fire
viciously at one another from behind tall barricades. Among the wounded
soldiers, a determined young woman known as the “Angel of the Battlefield”
flies back and forth between the moaning men. Affixed to her white collar is a
bold red cross. On June 26, 2015, a throng of lobbyists crowded the steps to
the Supreme Court building. An expectant hush reigned over the group, which was
waiting for the final decision to be announced.
Many of the signs, reading “Rainbows reign!” and “Equality in marriage,”
proudly depicted the image of two crossed lines topped with a circle. Again and
again throughout history, the symbols of the cross and its various
manifestations have appeared as proud representations of the movement for human
rights.
When one speaks of human rights
around the world, it is impossible to overlook the International Red Cross,
whose mission statement of “providing compassionate care to those in need”
directly addresses its goal of fulfilling the basic human rights of the most
deprived individuals. The organization’s trademark symbol (a red cross on a
plain white background) was first used by the founder of the American Red
Cross, Clara Barton, who devised the emblem while serving troops in the
Franco-Prussian War. In the modern human rights sphere, the humanitarian work
of the Red Cross has been critical in supporting those displaced by the Syrian
Refugee Crisis and struggling to find daily sustenance and shelter.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, arguably the most
authoritative international text on the subject, clearly states that the
guarantee of human rights cannot be based upon “distinction[s] of any kind”
including gender-based categories. This fundamental promise to a gender-blind application
of rights has become an especially contentious issue in the past decade, as
more and more countries have legally accepted the rights of homosexual
individuals to engage in the equal right to marriage. (As of 2015, twenty-two
countries have legalized same-sex marriage, with the first being the
Netherlands in 2000.) Activists in the movement for LGBTQ rights have adopted
the standard gender symbols (denoting males and females) as icons for their
campaign.
Regardless of how one chooses to
interpret the cross, one will always be reminded of its most prevalent usage as
the Christian Cross, recalling both Jesus’s crucifixion and the Holy Trinity. Since
around 1200, when Saint Francis and his companions began living in solidarity with
the poor, preaching about the holiness of a simple life, the Christian religion
and orders such as the Brothers of Holy Cross have become associated with acts
of goodwill and the delivery of aid to the disadvantaged. In the New Testament,
alms-giving is cited as a key tenant in the Christian life.
Yet the close association
between religion and the delivery of human rights has been repudiated in
several situations around the world. In North Korea, Christian missionaries
attempting to provide refugees with protection have been accused of
prioritizing their own religious agenda, making the victims’ conversion to
Christianity a perquisite for their ability to receive aid. Other religions and
indigenous belief systems that perpetuate gender discriminatory behaviors have
been seen as conflicting with the fulfillment of universal human rights.
While the cross has had a long history in the campaign for human rights,
several notable controversies have forced some to question its place in the
movement and its ability to serve as a true champion for our fundamental rights.
