Human Rights Day, an international day of observance, is held every year on December 10, in memorial of the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights plays a major role in coordinating worldwide efforts to celebrate the day, which routinely features cultural events and performances, public meetings and seminars, and other educational activities in the promotion of human rights. The day is normally marked both by high-level political conferences and meetings and by cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues. Besides, it is traditionally on 10 December that the five-yearly United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights and Nobel Peace Prize is awarded. Many governmental and non-governmental organizations active in the human rights field also schedule special events to commemorate the day, as do many civil and social-cause organizations.

At a plenary session on December 4, 1950, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution (423 [V]) that invited all UN member states and any other interested organizations to commemorate the Dec. 10, 1948, proclamation of the UDHR with an annual celebration, called Human Rights Day, to be held on the anniversary of that landmark date. When the General Assembly adopted the Declaration, with 48 states in favor and eight abstentions, it was proclaimed as a “common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations”, towards which individuals and societies should “strive by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance”. The measure was received by both advocates and critics alike as “being more declarative than legislative, more suggestive than binding. Each year a theme is chosen to draw attention to a particular facet of the effort to uphold human rights. Themes have included ending discrimination, fighting poverty, and protecting victims of human rights violations. The 2022 Theme of Human Rights Day is Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All.

Human Rights Day has also served as the occasion for protests and other demonstrations in support of human rights, especially in countries that have frequently been beset by allegations of rights violations. Notably, violence and the arrest and imprisonment of protesters during a Human Rights Day demonstration in Kao-hsiung, Taiwan, in 1979 contributed to the democratization process in Taiwan. Similarly, a series of massive demonstrations in Mongolia that began on Human Rights Day in 1989 helped precipitate the collapse of that country’s communist government the following year.

Governments come together at the United Nations to discuss and set various human rights standards. For example, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) sets out the basis for all of our human rights – it provides the foundation for all international human rights laws and treaties that have come since. In summary, the responsibility for who protects human rights is spread across various layers of our society. These include The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, The European Court of Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other agencies and organizations.

Bibliography:

  1. United Nations/OHCHR – Human Rights Day.
  2. World Health Organization (WHO) – Human Rights Day.
  3. Britannica – Human Rights Day.
  4. Human Rights  Careers – 25 International Human Rights Organizations.