Know Your Rights!

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights holds the Guinness World Record as the most translated document. Yet, far too many people are still unaware of their basic rights as human beings. 

2023 | Celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

UNESCO, in partnership with the Permanent Representation of the European Union to UNESCO, organizes the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “The common standard of achievement for all people and all nations”, on 11 December 2023.

Through diverse perspectives, the event will reaffirm the importance of human rights in delivering on UNESCO's mandate in education, science, culture, communication and information. Through an emphasis on the two Global Priorities of the Organization – Africa and Gender Equality – the discussion will highlight connections, implementation challenges and opportunities for impactful action.

Human Rights Day

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December – the day on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
 
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights empowers us all. The principles enshrined in the Declaration are as relevant today as they were in 1948. We need to stand up for our own rights and those of others. We can take action in our own daily lives, to uphold the rights that protect us all and thereby promote the kinship of all human beings.

In December 1948, UNESCO was the first United Nations agency to place the Universal Declaration at the heart of all its action, to promote it across the world through education and the media.

2022 Theme: Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All

This year’s slogan for Human Rights Day is 'Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All'.

“It is absolutely clear that we need to regain the universality of human rights, the indivisibility of human rights, and we need to find a new energy that motivates young people around the world."Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

The 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be celebrated on 10 December 2023.

Ahead of this milestone, starting on this year's Human Rights Day on 10 December 2022, a year-long campaign is launched to showcase the UDHR by focusing on its legacy, relevance and activism.

In the decades since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, human rights have become more recognized and more guaranteed across the globe. It has since served as the foundation for an expanding system of human rights protection that today focuses also on vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and migrants.

However, the promise of the UDHR, of dignity and equality in rights, has been under a sustained assault in recent years. As the world faces challenges new and ongoing – pandemics, conflicts, exploding inequalities, morally bankrupt global financial system, racism, climate change – the values, and rights enshrined in the UDHR provide guideposts for our collective actions that do not leave anyone behind.

The year-long campaign seeks to shift the needle of understanding and action towards greater knowledge of the universality of the UDHR and the activism associated with it.

Longyear Campaign
Human Rights Day 2022 | OHCHR
Zonta International PR-Tools &Logis | Club Press Release Templates | Human Rights Day (10 December 2021)

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Women Who Shaped the Universal Declaration


Photo: © UN

Eleanor Roosevelt's leading role as Chairperson of the drafting committee of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been well documented. But other women also played essential parts in shaping the document. Some of them, and their contributions to the inclusion of women’s rights in the Universal Declaration, are featured here.