UN Education Outreach | Film Your Issue 2008

Video courtesy of UNTV

Illustration courtesy of Kichka

Human Rights

Human rights refer to “the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, including the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law.” On 10 December 2008, the United Nations will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Read the Declaration online.
Print you own copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

To learn more about human rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), visit two new websites that have been developed for the 60th anniversary campaign on the UDHR:
Human Rights 2007
Know Your Rights 2008

Download and print a booklet on how to celebrate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (PDF).

Human rights are recognized as fundamental by the United Nations and, as such, featured prominently in the Preamble of the Charter of the United Nations: “... to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small...”

On 10 December 1948 the General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

The Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, was established to replace the Commission on Human Rights, as a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly; the Council shall be responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in a fair and equal manner; the Council should address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, and make recommendations thereon. It should also promote the effective coordination and the mainstreaming of human rights within the United Nations system.

For more information on human rights, visit the website of the Office the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights.