The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is much more than a catalogue of rights - it is a call to action.

These are the words of US Ambassador to Fiji, Steven McGann to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights today.

McGann said the Universal Declaration calls upon every individual and every organ of society to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance.

He said if the great promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is to be filled, the international community and especially the world's democracies cannot accept that any people in the world are condemned to live without dignity or under tyranny.

McGann said they believe that democracy is the only form of government capable of securing and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms over the long term.

He adds countries in which power is concentrated in the hands of unaccountable rulers are the world's most systematic human rights violators.

McGann said that no government is without flaws. He said democracy is a system of government of by and for the people, based on the principle that human beings have the inherent right to shape their own future.