It was on this day, December 10, 1948, that the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which is available in more than 360 languages), for which it called all UN Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.”
On this the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, events around the world are taking place on this day and for the remainder of the month to celebrate the UN's anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Human Rights Day, which was also declared for December 10th. Including;
Children of War: Broken Childhood, 20 December, 2008, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., UN Headquarters, New York, USA. A photo exhibition on the subject of child soldiers which will be opened by the Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, Ambassador Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children & Armed Conflict, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy. Also participating will be Ismael Beah, Grace Akallo, Kon Kelei and John Onama, former child soldiers and youth advocates for children affected by war.
Share your thoughts on what Human Rights mean to and make an impact on human right around the globe. Make a short video, no longer than 2 minutes, expressing your opinion and post it as a response video on YouTube. The most creative and original video will be selected by a jury of peers. Deadline: February 28, 2009, click here.
Watch Amnesty International's; “The Price of Silence”: a new music video featuring some of the world's greatest musicians, including some who’ve fled oppressive regimes. You can also buy the music exclusively on iTunes: all proceeds will go to support Amnesty International.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/xevGz8_MBKk" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]Tell the world you support the Universal Declaration and add your name to the ProtectTheHuman.org petition.
As the ink dried on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60 years ago the wounds of the Holocaust had only just begun to heal, and now we sit here in remembrance we are once again faced with a world wounded by genocide and war. While the global community has made great changes and strides since the declaration was drawn up. However with these changes must come a continued unity and strength in the protection of human rights across the globe, as the most vulnerable continue to face daily hardship and abuse.
On this Human Rights Day, let us act as a united global community and hold ourselves responsible for ensuring the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration. Therefore take this day not only to celebrate progress, but to see that the voices of those who dream of freedom, no longer have to dream. Thus let us work as a global community to protect and uphold these rights, so that as the declaration intends, they will never be taken for granted.
