International Human Rights Day

International Human Rights Day
Name	International Human Rights Day
Type	International
Observedby	United Nations, United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Human Rights Council, European Union, African Union, Organization of American States
Significance	Commemoration of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948
Date	10 December
Frequency	Annual
First	10 December 1950 (first observance by United Nations)

Contents

International Human Rights Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. The day is observed annually by the United Nations, regional bodies such as the European Commission, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, and national authorities including the U.S. Department of State, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (United Kingdom), and the Ministry of External Affairs (India). Many non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Committee of the Red Cross coordinate campaigns and events that underscore civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.

History

The impetus for an international bill of rights followed the atrocities associated with World War II, the Nuremberg Trials, and the formation of the United Nations in 1945. Drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights involved delegates and drafters including representatives from United States, United Kingdom, France, China, Soviet Union, as well as individuals such as Eleanor Roosevelt, John Peters Humphrey, Hernán Santa Cruz, and René Cassin. The United Nations General Assembly resolution adopting the Declaration culminated debates shaped by instruments like the Atlantic Charter and reactions to events such as the Holocaust. The first formal commemoration of Human Rights Day was proclaimed by the United Nations in 1950, and the day has since been recognized through resolutions of the General Assembly and programming by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Activities range from multi-stakeholder events convened by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to grassroots campaigns run by organizations like Freedom House, Global Witness, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, and Transparency International. National commemorations may feature proclamations by heads of state including the President of the United States, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the President of South Africa, parliamentary debates in bodies such as the Knesset, Bundestag, and Lok Sabha, and ceremonies at monuments like the Human Rights Monument (Nicosia) or the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Academic institutions including Harvard University, University of Oxford, University of Cape Town, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and University of Tokyo host symposia; cultural organizations such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and festivals like the Sundance Film Festival program films and exhibitions related to rights issues.

Each year the United Nations or leading NGOs announce a theme or campaign linking to topics addressed in instruments like the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Campaigns have targeted issues such as freedom of expression championed by Reporters Without Borders, refugee protection advocated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, anti-torture efforts tied to the United Nations Convention against Torture, and economic rights advanced by organizations like the International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization. High-profile initiatives have included digital rights drives with groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, climate justice collaborations with Greenpeace and 350.org, and anti-corruption efforts involving the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Human Rights Day and the broader human rights movement have prompted debates involving actors such as the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, and other states that challenge the universality of norms advanced by Western NGOs like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Critics point to selective application of measures by bodies like the United Nations Human Rights Council, politicization in the Security Council veto dynamics involving United States, Russia, and China, and disputes over cultural relativism raised by scholars from institutions such as the Beijing Normal University and the Al-Azhar University. Controversies have also arisen over funding sources, legal enforcement through courts like the International Criminal Court, and tensions between human rights priorities and trade policy as seen in negotiations at the World Trade Organization.

Over decades the observance has contributed to the mainstreaming of rights concepts into instruments such as the European Social Charter, national constitutions like those of South Africa and Germany, and jurisprudence from tribunals including the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Human Rights Day has catalyzed campaigns that influenced landmark laws including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and has supported movements led by figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Malala Yousafzai, and Desmond Tutu. Its legacy persists in ongoing activism by coalitions including the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization and civic mobilizations from networks like Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring uprisings.