Human Rights Day
The Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December — the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR is a milestone document that proclaims the inalienable rights which everyone is entitled to as a human being - regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Available in more than 500 languages, it is the most translated document in the world. The 10 December observance is an opportunity to Reaffirm the importance of human rights in re-building the world we want, the need for global solidarity as well as our interconnectedness and shared humanity.
FORUM: Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights; Human Rights Day 2020.
This year’s Human Rights Day theme relates to the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on the need to build back better by ensuring Human Rights are central to recovery efforts. We will reach our common global goals only if we are able to create equal opportunities for all, address the failures exposed and exploited by COVID-19, and apply human rights standards to tackle entrenched, systematic, and intergenerational inequalities, exclusion and discrimination. Learn more about the issues on human rights by contries.
CAMPAIGN: Under UN Human Rights’ generic call to action “Stand Up for Human rights”, we aim to engage the general public, our partners and the UN family to bolster transformative action and showcase practical and inspirational examples that can contribute to recovering better and fostering more resilient and just societies.
Statement by the United Nations Secretary-General on Human rights Day 2020, December 10th.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced two fundamental truths about human rights.
First, human rights violations harm us all.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups including frontline workers, people with disabilities, older people, women and girls, and minorities.
It has thrived because poverty, inequality, discrimination, the destruction of our natural environment and other human rights failures have created enormous fragilities in our societies.
At the same time, the pandemic is undermining human rights, by providing a pretext for heavy-handed security responses and repressive measures that curtail civic space and media freedom.
The second truth highlighted by the pandemic is that human rights are universal and protect us all.
An effective response to the pandemic must be based on solidarity and cooperation.
Divisive approaches, authoritarianism and nationalism make no sense against a global threat.
People and their rights must be front and centre of response and recovery. We need universal, rights-based frameworks like health coverage for all, to beat this pandemic and protect us for the future.
My Call to Action for Human Rights spells out the central role of human rights in crisis response, gender equality, public participation, climate justice and sustainable development.
On Human Rights Day and every day, let’s resolve to act collectively, with human rights front and centre, to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and build a better future for all.
António Guterres. U.N. Secretary-General.
This year’s Human Rights Day falls at a time we will never forget. COVID-19 has taken us by storm and shaken our world. A tragedy followed by an extraordinary opportunity to recover better.
This Human Rights Day is a call to action. A call for all of us to seize this opportunity and build the world we want. For that, we must accept the lessons from this crisis.
One: end discrimination of any kind. Like pre-existing conditions that make individuals more fragile, gaps in respecting human rights have made all of society more vulnerable. If anyone is at risk, everyone is at risk. Discrimination, exclusion and other human rights violations harm us all.
Two: reduce widespread inequalities. Universal social protection, universal health coverage, and other systems for the delivery of fundamental rights are not luxuries. They keep societies standing and can shape a more equitable future.
Three: encourage participation, especially from young people. All voices have a right to be heard.
Four: increase and intensify our resolve and efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, a concrete Agenda for universal human rights. These are not just the right things to do –they are the smart things to do. And there is only one way they can be done: by standing up for human rights. Because human rights yield fair and resilient societies. They are the answer to this human crisis.
Like the climate emergency, COVID-19 reminds us that we are bound together as one humanity.
We must act. Working together, we can recover better.
With strong solidarity, we can build a world that is more resilient, sustainable and just.
Join me in standing up for human rights.
Michelle Bachelet, U.N. Human Rights Commissioner.
Human Rights Day 2020: Celebrating COVID-19 Frontline Heroes.
10 December: This event, hosted by the New York Office of UN Human Rights, showcases the contribution the heroes of the pandemic are making to achieving the rights of others and underline the fact that they have rights themselves.
Join us to hear from people working to make human rights a reality around the globe. The event includes personal testimony from health workers in Thailand and Guatemala, and women’s support network leaders in Nigeria and Egypt. It also features a mask-maker, an advocate for the elderly and refugees, an educator and a performer from Spain, Poland, Jamaica and the United States. The event begins with an opening address by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, followed by remarks by Carmelyn P. Malalis, Chair and Commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, and closing comments from Ilze Brands Kehris, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights.
Event in Geneva
In Geneva, OHCHR hosts an exclusive online audio-visual event: “Recover better: Stand up for Human Rights”. The 90-minute programme highlights innovations by and inspirational stories of people and organizations that are finding ways to rebuild a better world by placing human rights at the heart of the recovery from COVID-19.Human Rights Day Observance at UN Geneva
Event in New York
In New York, UN Human Rights hosts a virtual event: “A Celebration of COVID-19 Frontline Heroes.” This one-hour event spotlights frontline workers who have borne the brunt of the pandemic, and community organizers who have helped those around them to cope with the pandemic in a human rights-centered manner.
Human Rights Day observance in UNHQ. New York
Watch the concert on UN Web TV or on UN Human Rights YouTube channel.
UN75 dialogue on strengthening Human Rights
The UN75 Office together with Universal Rights Group hosts a virtual Zoom dialogue and high-level panel discussion to mark the UN75th anniversary and Human Rights Day: "Is human rights still a priority for the ‘Peoples of the United Nations’? Findings from the UN75 global survey and report".
UN75 Dialogue - Register here to participate
"Recover Better: Stand Up For Human Rights"
Video message by António Guterres (UN Secretary-General) on Human Rights Day 2020 "Recover Better: Stand Up For Human Rights".
In celebration of Human Rights Day on 10 December 2020, the UN Chamber Music Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council (UNCMS), will perform a concert – to celebrate the adoption in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)..The music programme will feature and celebrate musical works by female composers and composers of minority communities, representing an artistic tapestry of composers from diverse backgrounds. By celebrating the works of composers from diverse backgrounds, we help to realign the world of classical music with its nuanced history, while expanding notions of what is considered conventional in classical music – symbolizing our hopes of building bridges of understanding of human rights.
Holding a poster of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
72 years ago, Eleanor Roosevelt was instrumental in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But she was not alone. Discover who are the women who shaped the major instrument for the defense of Human Rights.
Lake Success, NY, November 1949.
Chairpersons of the Commission on Human Rights .
Drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At a time of increasing East- West tensions, Eleanor Roosevelt used her enormous prestige and credibility with both superpowers to steer the drafting process toward its successful completion. In 1968, Eleanor Roosevelt was posthumously awarded the United Nations Human Rights Prize.
CONCERTS
The UN Chamber Music Society performs a virtual concert in celebration of Human Rights Day featuring composers from diverse backgrounds. Founded in 2016, the UN Chamber Music Society is dedicated to promoting the United Nations’ goals and values at large - through the universal language of music.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Simplified version [PDF ]
Video recordings of articles of the UDHR — also available on Youtube
Events around the world
UN Human Rights’ presences around the world, United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) and other partners will also celebrate this important day.
The United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights
List of previous recipients
FIRST AWARD - December 1968 - 20th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Manuel Bianchi (Chile), Ambassador, Chairman of Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
René Cassin (France), Original member of Human Rights Commission
Chief Albert Luthuli (posthumously) (South Africa), President of the ANC
Mehranguiz Manoutchehrian (Iran), Attorney/Legal Adviser and Senator
Petr Emelyanovich Nedbailo (Ukraine), Member, Human Rights Commission
Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt (posthumously) (U.S.A.), First Lady, President of the Human Rights Commission
SECOND AWARD - December 1973 - 25th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Dr. Taha Hussein (posthumously) (Egypt), Professor of Literature
C. Wilfred Jenks (posthumously) (UK), Director-General of International Labour Office
Maria Lavalle Urbina (Mexico), Lawyer, Professor
Bishop Abel Muzorewa (Zimbabwe), President of the ANC, Bishop of United Methodist Church
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (Mauritius), Prime Minister of Mauritius
U Thant (Myanmar), Secretary-General of the United Nations
THIRD AWARD - December 1978- 30th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Begum Ra’Ana Liaquat Ali Khan (Pakistan)
Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (Iran)
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King (Posthumously) (USA)
Mrs. Helen Suzman (South Africa)
The International Committee of the Red Cross
Amnesty International
Vicaria de la Solidaridad (Chile)
Union nationale des femmes de Tunisie
FOURTH AWARD - December 1988- 40th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Baba Murlidhar Devidas Amte (India), Lawyer
John Humphrey (Canada) Director, United Nations Division of Human Rights
Prof. Adam Lopatka (Poland), President, Supreme Court of Poland
Bishop Leonidas Proaño (Ecuador)
Nelson Mandela (South Africa)
Winnie Mandela (South Africa)
FIFTH AWARD - December 1993- 45th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Mr. Hassib Ben Ammar (Tunisia), President of the Arab Institute for Human Rights
Dr. Erica-Irene Daes (Greece), Chair/Rapporteur, Working Group on Indigenous Populations
James Grant (U.S.A.), Executive Director of UNICEF
The International Commission of Jurists
The Medical Personnel of the Central Hospital of Sarajevo
Dr. Sonia Picado Sotela (Costa Rica), Jurist, Vice President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Ganesh Man Singh (Nepal), Supreme Leader of the Nepali Congress
The Sudanese Women’s Union
Father Julio Tumiri Javier (Bolivia), Founder and President, Permanent Assembly of Human Rights in Bolivia
SIXTH AWARD – December 1998 – 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Sunila Abeyesekera (Sri Lanka), Director of Inform
Angelina Acheng Atyam (Uganda), who has worked to secure the release of children in rebel captivity in Uganda
Jimmy Carter (U.S.A.), former President of the United Sates
Jose Gregori (Brazil), Head of the Brazilian National Secretariat for Human Rights
Anna Sabatova (Czech Republic), one of the founding members of "Charter 77"
A Prize was given in honour of all human rights defenders.
SEVENTH AWARD – December 2003 – 55th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Enriqueta Estela Barnes de Carlotto (Argentina), President of the Asociación Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo [Association of Plaza de Mayo Grandmothers]
Deng Pufang (China), Founder and Director of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation
The Family Protection Project Management Team (Jordan)
Shulamith Koenig (U.S.A), Executive Director of the People’s Movement for Human Rights Education
The Mano River Women’s Peace Network in West Africa (network of women’s organizations from Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea)
Sergio Vieira de Mello (Brazil), special posthumous award
EIGHTH AWARD – December 2008 – 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Louise Arbour (Canada), former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Benazir Bhutto (posthumously) (Pakistan), former Prime Minister and leader of the opposition who was assassinated.
Ramsey Clark (U.S.A.), former Attorney General
Dr. Carolyn Gomes (Jamaica), of Jamaicans for Justice
Dr. Denis Mukwege (Democratic Republic of the Congo), co-founder of the General Referral Hospital of Panzi
Sr. Dorothy Stang (posthumously) (Brazil), murdered nun, Human Rights Watch