THE EVENT
The concert celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and took place 10 years on from the groundbreaking ‘Human Rights Now’ tour, at the Palais Omnisport de Paris-Bercy in France on December 10, 1998. Tracy Chapman, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N’Dour, Radiohead, Alanis Morisette, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Kassav’, Asian Dub Foundation… are the big names that supporter the 6-hour line up at the 17,000 seat Bercy Stadium.
VIDEOS
GET UP STAND UP (w/ Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Youssou N’Dour) – Paris Concert For Amnesty International, December 10, 1998
NEW BEGINNING – Paris Concert For Amnesty International, December 10, 1998
FAST CAR – Paris Concert For Amnesty International, December 10, 1998
BABY CAN I HOLD YOU – Paris Concert For Amnesty International, December 10, 1998
SEVEN SECONDS (w/ Youssou N’Dour, Peter Gabriel, Jocelyn Berouard) – Paris Concert For Amnesty International, December 10, 1998
DVD (Order on Amazon.com)
Format: VHS, DVD
Release: 1999
Run time: 171 mn
Tracklisting:
1. Get Up, Stand Up – Gabriel, Chapman, Springsteen, N’Dour
2. Baba – Alanis Morissette
3. Hand in My Pocket – Alanis Morissette
4. Thank U – Alanis Morissette
5. Medley – Kassav’
6. Se Dam Bon Jou – Kassav’
7. Black White – Asian Dub Foundation
8. Buzzin’ – Asian Dub Foundation
9. Free Satpal Ram – Asian Dub Foundation
10. Signal to Noise – Peter Garbiel with Youssou N’Dour
11. In Your Eyes – Peter Garbiel with Youssou N’Dour
12. New Beginning – Tracy Chapman
13. Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
14. Baby I Can Hold You – Tracy Chapman
15. No Surrender – Bruce Springsteen
16. Born in the USA – Bruce Springsteen
17. Working on the Highway – Bruce Springsteen
18. When the World Was Young – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
19. Babe I’m Gonna Leave You – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
20. Gallows Pole – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
21. Rock and Roll – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
22. You’re Still the One – Shania Twain
23. Black Eyes, Blue Tears – Shania Twain
24. Karma Police – Radiohead
25. Bones – Radiohead
26. Paranoid Android – Radiohead
27. Shaking the Tree – Youssou N’Dour with Peter Gabriel
28. 7 Seconds – N’Dour, Gabriel, Chapman and Jocelyn Beroard
TRACY CHAPMAN SETLIST:
1. Get Up Stand Up (w/ Springsteen, Gabriel & N’Dour)
2. New Beginning
3. Fast Car
4. Baby Can I Hold You
5. Why?
6. Give Me One Reason
7. Talkin’bout A Revolution
8. Seven Seconds (w/ N’Dour, Gabriel & Berouard)
QUOTES
Tracy Chapman: “”For half a century, the governments of the world have pledged to support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amnesty International has worked to ensure that governments honor their pledges. I appreciate the opportunity to publicly renew my support for Amnesty International at the concert for human rights defenders in Paris. I hope this event will highlight the need to support those who defend Human Rights, inform those who are unaware of their Human Rights and expose those who deny the rights of others. The approach of a new century offers the chance to shape the world so that the vision of the UDHR becomes a reality for all people.””
Radiohead:“”The Amnesty International human rights concert in Paris will be our only European appearance this year. We hope that this is an effective way to support AI in their positive work to promote the human rights enshrined in the UDHR. Without the work of organisations like AI, the UDHR would be mere rhetoric. We hope that future anniversaries will mark the full international implementation of the UDHR and a truly effective UN General Assembly which can make the Declaration’ s articles a reality.”
Peter Gabriel: “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a very powerful document. I am very happy Amnesty International has managed to organise a concert for the 50th anniversary. People need to know the rights their governments have accepted yet frequently ignore and abuse. It should be a great night. I am looking forward to hearing all the artists on what is a very strong bill”.
I only discovered the contents of Universal Declaration in 1988 when we were preparing the Human Rights Now tour, and was really surprised to find out what they contained. In addition to what I expected to find, I also learnt that food, clothing, a place to live, a health service and an education were all fundamental human rights. It is incredible that so many countries signed up to this agreement but that so few actually put them into practice. It’s great therefore that Amnesty International has taken the initiative in celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I hope that by raising awareness of this important document we can give the citizens of many countries more weight in fighting for fundamental human rights.
“Ten years ago, when we were travelling all over the world on the Human Rights Now tour, I met people who had suffered human rights abuses or who had lost members of their family and their problems became a reality for me. I was very surprised that many of these people did not have the chance to tell their tale through the media and fewer still received a reaction when they did. It seemed to me that real video evidence should have had more impact.”
Youssou N’Dour: “The Human Rights Now tour was instrumental in educating millions of people around the world about the UDHR. With this concert, we want to highlight the incredible courage of the human rights defenders who struggle in dangerous conditions — often risking their lives — to make the rights in the UDHR a reality”.
Kassav: “Our group, Kassav, consists of musicians who come from many different origins – nationality, social background, political ideas, religion and skin colour. Having had the opportunity to tour the world, we know that in many countries our group could not exist. In this year of celebrating the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are honoured to stand with those who have defended Human Rights for many years.”
FACTS
Broadcast on radio with celebrity promos by Tim Robbins, Suzanne Vega, Cyndi Lauper, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Tom Morello.
His Holiness The Dalai Lama gave a speech to the audience.
CONCERT REVIEW
Stars shine for amnesty
– BBC News, Thursday, December 10, 1998 Published at 23:37 GMT
Rock veteran Bruce Springsteen joined British band Radiohead and Canadian singer Alanis Morissette for a concert to mark the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The award-winning Radiohead played in public for the first time in eight months .
They appeared before a 16,000-strong crowd at Paris’s Bercy Stadium for the Amnesty International concert The Struggle Continues.
Mark Ogle, media director for Amnesty International said: “It has been an absolutely fantastic night. The whole thing has been incredible. “It has been a great night for music and human rights.”
Radiohead last played in April in the US to round off their world tour and their last British date was back in November 1997.
Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N’Dour and Tracy Chapman were also on the bill, for the concert organised by pressure group Amnesty International and the UK retailer, The Body Shop.
The concert was part of a week of events to mark the anniversary of the declaration, and marks 10 years since Gabriel, Chapman and N’Dour took part in Amnesty’s Human Rights Now tour.
Peter Gabriel, a veteran of Amnesty’s human rights shows a decade ago, said earlier: “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a very powerful document.
“People need to know the rights their government have accepted yet frequently ignore and abuse. It should be a great night.”
The concert coincided with a summit of world leaders in Paris to discuss human rights.
Many high profile human rights figures – including South African President Nelson Mandela, Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the Dalai Lama – took part in the ceremony or sent messages.
At the close of the ceremony, French President Jacques Chirac called for a new worldwide legal order
Surrounded by human rights activists and dignitaries, Mr Chirac said: “In France and outside our borders, we need the vigilance and courage of human rights activists more than ever.
“So that globilisation takes place for everyone’s benefit we must lay the foundations for a new worldwide legal order.”
ABOUT AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for human rights. Its appeals for victims of human rights violations are based on accurate research and on international law. It is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion.
How it began:
The movement was launched in 1961 by Peter Benenson, a British lawyer, after he read about two Portuguese students who had been sentenced to seven years in prison for raising their glasses in a toast to freedom.
His newspaper appeal, “The Forgotten Prisoners”, was published worldwide on 28 May 1961 and brought in more than 1,000 offers of support for the idea of an ‘international campaign to protect human rights’. Within 12 months the new organisation had sent delegates to four countries to make representations for prisoners, had taken up 210 cases, and had organised national branches in seven countries.
From the beginning, the principles of fairness and independence were established. Its members began to act on cases worldwide, but did not become involved in cases in their own countries. The emphasis was on the international protection of human rights.
What Amnesty International does:
Amnesty International’s mandate has four main parts, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948:
- To seek the release of all prisoners of conscience as long as they have not used or encouraged violence.
- To work for fair and prompt trials for all political prisoners.
- To campaign to abolish the death penalty, torture, and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
- To end extra judicial executions and ‘disappearances’.
“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
This ancient proverb inspired Peter Benenson’s choice of a symbol for Amnesty International. The candle in barbed wire is still used today.
Amnesty International now has more than one million members and supporters in more than one hundred countries and territories.
