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Human Rights Day 2006

This year, Human Rights Day focuses on fighting poverty as a matter of obligation, not of charity. In his message for human rights day 2006, the Secretary-General stated that "human rights are jeopardized wherever and whenever a man, woman or child subsists in extreme poverty". He further underlined that "today, development, security and human rights go hand in hand; no one of them can advance very far without the other two. Indeed, anyone who speaks forcefully for human rights but does nothing about human security and human development ? or vice versa ? undermines both his credibility and his cause. So let us speak with one voice on all three issues, and let us work to ensure that freedom from want, freedom from fear and freedom to live in dignity carry real meaning for those most in need".

Statement by UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan:

Today, development, security and human rights go hand in hand; no one of them can advance very far without the other two.

The campaign to make poverty history poses a central moral challenge of our time. Enforcing universal human rights can blaze a path towards that goal.

Basic human rights "the right to a decent standard of living, to food and essential healthcare, to opportunities for education or decent work, or to freedom from discrimination" are precisely what the world's poorest need most. Yet, by virtue of their enfeebled status, they are the ones least able to achieve or defend such "universal" rights. As a result, human rights are jeopardized wherever and whenever a man, woman or child subsists in extreme poverty.

If we are to be serious about human rights, we must demonstrate that we are serious about deprivation. As suggested by this year's International Human Rights Day observance, we must answer the call to fight poverty as "a matter of obligation, not charity ".

Each of us should understand that the Rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are of little value to the millions of people in this world who are haunted by disease and starvation, so long as they have no effective remedies. We must all recognize that wherever entire families eke out an existence on less than a dollar a day, or children die for lack of basic yet lifesaving care, the Declaration has, at best, a hollow ring.

Viewing poverty through a human rights lens heightens our moral imperative to act. But it brings other benefits as well. Since human rights norms emphasize individual empowerment, a rights-based approach can help empower and enable the poor. It can help citizens at all levels to win the knowledge and status they need to play a real part in decisions that affect their lives. It can focus attention on sound and sustainable processes that offer hope for long term progress. And it can encourage us to measure our success not only by income levels, but by the freedom people have to lead fulfilling and enjoyable lives.

Today, development, security and human rights go hand in hand; no one of them can advance very far without the other two. Indeed, anyone who speaks forcefully for human rights but does nothing about human security and human development ? or vice versa ? undermines both his credibility and his cause. So let us speak with one voice on all three issues, and let us work to ensure that freedom from want, freedom from fear and freedom to live in dignity carry real meaning for those most in need.

Message of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour

States and International Community have a Duty to Fight Poverty

The awareness of the stranglehold of poverty on billions of men, women and children around the world, and of how this state of deprivation and misery compromises our common future, has never been higher. Yet, despite an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the complex makeup of poverty, ranging from exclusion and discrimination to a skewed international trade system, approaches to poverty reduction are still often tinged with appeals to charity or altruism.

On this Human Rights Day, we reaffirm that freedom from want is a right, not merely a matter of compassion. Fighting poverty is a duty that binds those who govern as surely as their obligation to ensure that all people are able to speak freely, choose their leaders and worship as their conscience guides them.

All countries, independent of national wealth, can take immediate measures to fight poverty based on human rights. Ending discrimination, for example, will in many cases remove barriers to decent work and give women and minorities access to essential services. Better distribution of collective resources and good governance, exemplified by tackling corruption and ensuring the rule of law, are within the reach of every state.

But as much as States bear the primary responsibility for their own development, the international community must also meet the commitments it has made to support the efforts of developing countries. Many rich countries have yet to meet development assistance targets they have accepted, yet they continue to spend ten times more on military budgets. They also spend nearly four times their development assistance budget "an amount almost equal to the total gross national product of African countries" to subsidize their own domestic agricultural producers. Indifference and a narrow calculus of national interests by wealthy countries hamper human rights and development just as damagingly as discrimination at the local level.

At the 2005 World Summit, global leaders recognized that development, peace and security and human rights are mutually reinforcing. In a world where one in every seven people continues to live in chronic hunger, and where inequalities between and within countries are growing, our ability to reach the goals the Summit reaffirmed in order to 'make poverty history' will remain in serious doubt if we do not tackle poverty as a matter of justice and human rights.

Message by UNDP Administrator, Kemal Dervis

Our work in development should empower people to articulate their needs, rights and concerns, to demand better social services, and to exercise their universal human rights by holding governments to account

Global economic growth has never been as rapid as in the last five years, and yet the distance between the poorest nations and the richest is widening. Inequalities within nations are also increasing almost everywhere. In too many countries, rising national GDP has failed to "lift all boats;" some prosper, but too many others are left in extreme poverty. It is clear that economic growth alone does not guarantee wider human development

It is within this context that we need to implement the values enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and reiterated so compellingly in the internationally agreed Millennium Declaration, to make globalization a more equitable and inclusive process that fortifies human security rather than undermines it. One of the greatest challenges of our time is this need to work together to address the un-equalizing nature of current global growth if we are to reduce poverty, enhance human security and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Poverty and social inequality persist because many people lack their universally-guaranteed human rights and fundamental freedoms. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights emphasized that human rights are inherent to all people regardless of their race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Freedom from poverty is a basic human right and tackling poverty should, therefore, be addressed as a basic human right, not as an act of charity. Real success in tackling poverty requires giving the poor a political voice in the societies where they live. This year's Human Rights Day theme, "Fighting Poverty: a Matter of Obligation, not Charity" , reaffirms the commitment to this approach.

Our work in development should empower people to articulate their needs, rights and concerns, to demand better social services, and to exercise their universal human rights by holding governments to account. Development strategies must focus on inclusive growth and democracy must work for the poor.

UNDP emphasizes that a human rights-based framework is essential in bringing about more equitable development. The UN Secretary-General's High Level Panel report, Delivering as One , published last month, argues that actions to integrate human rights into all aspects of the UN?s work will help to make our development efforts significantly more effective.

Human rights are not a luxury that exist only after a certain level of development is achieved; instead they are integral to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Almost sixty years have passed since the Universal Declaration and the words and values contained therein remain essential for defining and progressing towards human development for all.

WHO: Launch of Health and Human Rights Video

Health - My Right?

To commemorate International Human Rights Day, 10 December, 2006, WHO is launching a video to raise awareness about, and understanding of, the right to health. Three students explore together the key components of the right to health by reviewing international legal instruments and discussing how these apply in practice - in the everyday lives of people around the world.

[Click here to see a video (6.5 minutes)]