Thursday, December 10 is Human Rights Day, which was created to observe the adoption by the United Nations in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document lists the basic rights all humans are entitled, no matter their race, color, gender, nationality, religion or any other label which divides humanity.
Each year, has a different theme, and in 2009 the theme concerns the need to encourage non-discrimination globally. Events have been scheduled at various locations, including a panel at the United Nations in New York City, chaired by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and entitled “Race, Poverty and Power: A Panel Discussion on Discrimination in Development.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay stated “Discrimination lies at the root of many of the world’s most pressing human rights problems. No country is immune from this scourge. Eliminating discrimination is a duty of the highest order.” She continued, “Our main objective is to help promote discrimination-free societies and a world of equal treatment for all.”
A statement on the United Nations Human Rights Day web page announces,
“The realisation of all human rights - social, economic and cultural as well as civil and political rights – is hampered by discrimination. All too often, when faced with prejudice and discrimination, political leaders, governments and ordinary citizens are silent or complacent.
Yet everyone of us can make a difference. You are encouraged to celebrate Human Rights Day by advocating non-discrimination, organizing activities, raising awareness and reaching out to your local communities on 10 December and beyond.”
On the United Nations’ Human Rights Day site, Secretary-General of the U.N. Ban Ki-moon states, “Discrimination targets individuals and groups that are vulnerable to attack: the disabled, women and girls, the poor, migrants, minorities, and all those who are perceived as different... But these victims of discrimination are not alone. The United Nations is standing with them, committed to defending the rights of all, and particularly the most vulnerable. That is our identity and our mission.”
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