Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Emer Costello will unveil a World Poverty commemorative stone on Friday 17th October 2008 near the Famine Memorial on Custom House Quay, Dublin 8 at 11.30am. 

The commemorative stone is jointly commissioned by Dublin City Council and Dublin Docklands Authority and is inscribed with the words of Joseph Wresinski, founder of the International Human Rights Organisation ATD Fourth World.  The words “Whenever men and women are condemned to live in poverty, human rights are violated.  To come together to ensure that these rights are respected is our solemn duty”, were first inscribed on a commemorative stone laid on 17th October 1987 on the Human Rights Plaza in Paris where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had been signed.  Since then the same words have been used on more than 30 similar commemorative pieces around the world including the U.N. headquarters in New York and the European Parliament building in Brussels.  In 1992, the United Nations General Assembly adopted 17th October as its International Day for Eradication of Poverty.  The day is now observed in more than 100 countries. 

The Dublin commemorative stone is appropriately sited close to the Famine Memorial and the location where people have chosen to gather over several years to mark the U.N. day.  The text on the Dublin stone is engraved in Irish, English and French and the stone itself was sculpted by Irish Sculptor, Stuart McGrath. 

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