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Monument dedicated to human rights to be unveiled at Tour & Taxis

17:02 13/11/2018

A new monument is being planned for the Tour & Taxis site that will be dedicated to human rights. A obelisk 12 metres high will contain the text of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The monument will be inaugurated on 10 December, the 70th anniversary of the document.

The Brussels-Capital Region is funding the monument for €140,000. The project is being handled by  Céline Fremault, minister of the environment and ‘quality of life’.

Inspired by the simplicity of the design of the monument in the Sonian Forest that memorialises the victims of the 2016 terrorist attacks, she hired the same landscape architect to design the new monument.

While the Sonian memorial is a round ring on the ground, designer Bas Smets this time chose an obelisk. On the base the articles from the declaration will be engraved in four languages – English, French, Dutch and German – “so that everyone can remember that they are all equal,” Fremault told Le Soir.

A circle of pine trees will be planted around the monument, and there will be benches for people to rest and reflect. “During times when norms are becoming blurred, we need places that encourage reflection,” she said.

Photo: A scale model of the monument
©Bas Smets

Written by Lisa Bradshaw