Berlin - Human rights is to remain as a component in German foreign policy, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday.

"We should not remain silent when there is an issue of human rights," said Merkel, whose chancellorship has been marked by friction with some governments on what she sees as rights issues.

Germany would support human rights all over the world, she said, adding that Berlin had a "values-driven" foreign policy.

She was attending ceremonies in Berlin marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

The UN General Assembly adopted the document on December 10, 1948. Its main message is equality among all human beings.

Merkel said weighing up in day-to-day politics how to gain the best outcome for human rights was not always easy.

"The government will never allow an improper competition between values and national interests," she said.

Germany's President Horst Koehler did not attend, but sent a message for the ceremony saying, "When human rights are breached, we cannot and should not remain silent. Even in our own nation."

At dusk, thousands of tiny candles were to be lit in a vigil at Berlin's landmark triumphal arch, the Brandenburg Gate, as a memorial to those whose rights have been trampled on. (dpa)