Every year on 10 December, the United Nations and people around the world mark Human Rights Day.
The Day serves as an important opportunity to reaffirm the principles outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. This landmark document set out, for the first time, the fundamental human rights to be universally protected.
To date, the Declaration of Human Rights is the most translated document in the world, having been translated into more than 500 languages. It is widely recognized as having inspired and paved the way for the adoption of more than 70 human rights treaties.
Human rights belong to all of us — regardless of nationality, gender, income or any other status, ensuring equality, dignity and freedom for everyone. Yet, in recent times, human rights have come under attack around the world.
“Critical voices are under attack and the backlash against human rights is growing,” Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has warned. “Legitimate protests are curbed, repression is rising, and public space is shrinking.”
“We need to go back to the basics. Human rights are not abstract ideas or ideologies. They are about who we are, and how we live. They are grounded in facts, in law and in compassion,” the High Commissioner has stressed.
“We cannot lose the profound values and principles underpinning human rights,” he has urged. “They embody our needs and our hopes.”
You can learn more about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights here, as well as the United Nations’ work to protect and promote human rights around the world.
You can also gain further insights and perspectives about the United Nations and its work by following the UN’s page on LinkedIn, as well as the LinkedIn page for United Nations Human Rights.
