Human Rights Day – December 10th 2022
2022 Theme: Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All
In its preamble, the UDHR highlighted the “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
Our hope is to increase knowledge of the UDHR as a foundational blueprint for taking concrete actions to stand up for human rights and tackle pressing global issues today. https://www.ohchr.org/en/get-involved/campaign/human-rights-day
Key messages
1. The UDHR enshrines the rights of all human beings.
- Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the UDHR is a set of universal, indivisible and inalienable rights, recognising the equal dignity and worth of every person.
- It was the first time that the international community agreed on a set of common values and acknowledged that rights are inherent to every single human being and not granted by the State.
- From the right to education to equal pay, UDHR established for the first time the indivisible and inalienable rights of all humanity.
- It continues to inspire movements for change for a more equal and inclusive world of benefit to everyone.
2. As a “common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations”, the UDHR is a global blueprint for international, national, and local laws and policies and a bedrock of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.
- The UHRR fosters a sense of common humanity (equality) beyond individual differences and has given rise to national, regional and international laws and institutions to help realise all rights:economic, social, cultural, civil and political.
- The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development explicitly recognises it is grounded in UDHR and has to be implemented in a manner that realises human rights.
3. The UDHR has inspired many struggles for stronger human rights protection and helped them to be more recognised.
- In the (nearly) 75 years since the proclamation of the UDHR, human rights have advanced.
- We know that human rights are the catalyst to progress because they have already shown their potential: Improvements in the rights of women, children and young people, of indigenous people to guard and maintain their land and culture; the abolition of the death penalty in many countries – all these efforts were anchored in human rights.
- However, progress does not mean the fight for rights and equality ever ends. Given the many remaining challenges and the global backlash against human rights, the UDHR is more relevant than ever.
4. Whenever and wherever humanity’s values are abandoned, we all are at greater risk. The solutions to today’s greatest crises are rooted in human rights.
- Rights violations reverberate across borders and across generations. These can be, must be, collectively overcome. As the world faces challenges new and ongoing pandemics, conflicts, exploding inequlities, 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.
- Human rights, when applied, act as guardrails for policies, and a blueprint for concrete action towards development, peace and security.
- As the challenges evolve, UN Human Rights stepped up efforts and works with human rights defenders, States, and all partners to deliver on the promise of the UDHR to achieve human rights for all.
5. We need to stand up for our rights and those of others.
- The UDHR calls upon everybody to stand up for human rights. We all have a role to play. We can support and learn from others in our efforts to realise greater freedom and equality for all.
- Let’s act in our own daily lives, to up hold our rights and rights of others, to work together for a more sustainable, just, and prosperous world – for this generation and those yet to come.
6. We need an economy that invests in human rights and works for everyone.
- In the true spirit of UDHR, we need to change economic approaches and models that have produced untenable social costs, tearing apart the fabric of societies, fuelling instability and resulting in ever increasing inequalities.
- We need to renew the social contract between Governments and their people and within societies, so as to rebuild trust and embrace a shared and comprehensive vision of human rights on the road to a just and sustainable development.
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