Human Rights Day

Human Rights Day is observed on 10 December because the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris on that date in 1948. Drafted after the destruction and atrocities of the Second World War, the Declaration set out a common standard of fundamental rights and freedoms for every person. A diverse international drafting group worked on the text, with Eleanor Roosevelt chairing the UN Commission on Human Rights during the process. In 1950 the General Assembly invited countries and organizations to observe 10 December as Human Rights Day. The day therefore recalls both a historical document and an continuing principle: dignity and rights should not depend on nationality, religion, race, sex, language or social status. Public events commonly focus on equality before the law, freedom, justice, protection from discrimination and the responsibility to defend the rights of others as well as one’s own.

Human Rights Day is intended to build public awareness and encourage attention to its associated global issue.