According to UN Human Rights, a human rights economy places people and the planet at the heart of economic policies, investment, decisions consumer choices, and business models, with the goal of enhancing the enjoyment of human rights for all. To ensure human rights is at the core of sustainable development, UN Human Rights created the Surge Initiative in response to rising inequalities, the slow implementation of the SDGs and increasing social unrest. The mission is to step up engagement on economic, social, and cultural rights and strengthen the link between human rights and economics.

It 1982, the military regime surrounded the village of Nebaj, where Izabel Lopez Raymundo lived in Guatemala. They set fire to the houses; shot a man; the son trying to protect the family was also shot. The mother, with a baby on her back, was shot close range. The bullet killed the mother but lodged in the baby’s body. A soldier took the baby and placed her in an orphanage. The baby, now grown, is Lopez. She has a scar on her chest where the bullet went in. Lopez told her story during the recent session of the OHCHR Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED).

Sport can play a key role in bringing people together while promoting solidarity and respect for all. In recognition of the positive influence that sport can also have on the advancement of human rights, and sustainable development, the United Nations celebrates the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace on 6 April. A number of Davos-style conversations, highlighting the power of football and other sports in advancing the SDGs and human rights will take place at UN Headquarters in New York. Watch the virtual event live on UN Web TV and on the UN's YouTube channel.

We are moving away from the narrative of curing or converting autistic people and instead focusing on accepting, supporting and including autistic people, and advocating for their rights. This is a major transformation for all autistic people, their allies, the wider neurodiversity community. It enables autistic people to claim their dignity and self-esteem, and to become integrated as valued members of their families and societies. This year’s World Autism Awareness Day (2 April) focuses on the contributions by autistic people in the home, at work, in the arts and in policymaking.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, without distinction of any kind, including that of race. The Human Rights Council convenes today to debate the urgency of combating racism and racial discrimination 75 years after the adoption of the UDHR. The discussion gathers activists fighting against racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia to share their experience, expertise and recommendations on how to address some of the most pressing challenges and obstacles. Watch on UN WebTV.

Intolerance and discrimination against Muslims are not new phenomena, but they have evolved and reached epidemic proportions in recent years, often fueled by sections of the media and by some political discourse. Anti-Muslim bigotry is also part of a larger trend of a resurgence in ethno-nationalism, neo-Nazism, and hate speech targeting vulnerable populations. The International Day to Combat Islamophobia (15 March) seeks to send the clear message that Islamophobia should be countered through a discourse based on respect for human rights and for the diversity of religions and belief.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, addressed the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Mr. Türk delivered his first global oral update to the Council on the activities of his Office and on recent human rights developments worldwide. He pointed to conflict, discrimination, poverty, restrictions on civic space, the triple planetary crisis, and a surge of new human rights challenges involving artificial intelligence and surveillance, as the main concerns. He called for going the extra mile this year, which marks the 75th anniversary of the UDHR.

The UN Human Rights Council is holding its 52nd regular session from 27 February to 31 March 2023 in Geneva. The Council is made up of 47 member states elected by the UN General Assembly. It is responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations. Among the topics on its agenda this year are rights violations relating to the use of the death penalty, community inclusion of persons with disabilities, the rights of the child and the digital environment, and the elimination of racial discrimination. The UN Secretary-General addressed the opening meeting, urging respect for the rights of refugees and migrants. 

The spike in killings in 2022 marks a dramatic reversal of the positive trend seen in recent years: from 99 killings in 2018, the number had dropped to an average of 58 killings per year from 2019-2021, according to the UNESCO Observatory of Killed Journalists. Around half of the journalists killed were off duty at the time they were targeted. These numbers are a reminder of the growing fissures in rule of law systems worldwide and highlight states’ failure to fulfil their obligations to protect journalists and prevent and prosecute crimes against them.

In 1933, the Nazi Party took control of Germany and put its ideology into practice, identifying who could claim Germany as home. The process of exclusion went beyond legislation and propaganda campaigns of disinformation and hate speech, to state-sanctioned acts of terror. This year’s International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust explores how victims adjusted their ideas of “home” and “belonging” as they faced the violent, antisemitic onslaught of the Holocaust. Holocaust remembrance and education can inform our response to the plight of contemporary victims. 

“I realized I'm a black person and that people see the color of my skin first, before they see who I am and what I'm capable of doing…that was the rude awakening.”

With her writing, Amanda Khozi Mukwashi wants to change the conversation on race, gender, and identity. Now United Nations Resident Coordinator in Lesotho, she has written a book exploring the struggle for equity and the historical baggage of slavery and colonization. “Let's talk about it a little more freely, not for it to hold our hands and tie them, but for it to liberate us to think differently.”

Moving back to the UK after leaving a high-level development post in Zambia, Amanda Khozi Mukwashi got tired of being asked where she was really from. In this episode, she reflects on the discrimination she has faced, on the rich family history she inherited from her grandmother, and on discovering her own multifaceted identity.

"There are so many good people at the UN, all trying to make the world a bit better. It sounds idealistic, but we are idealistic. It is an idealistic organization."

Ulrika Richardson has dedicated her life to the UN. As Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, her belief in the organization’s idealistic values drives her to brave dangers in her mission to alleviate the suffering she has witnessed. “When you see people suffer, those images stay with you … that keeps you awake, and it *should* keep you awake.”

Life in Haiti remains precarious. Armed gangs, cholera, and fuel and food shortages mean violence, hunger, disease, deprivation are everyday hurdles for millions of Haitians. In this episode, Ulrika reflects on the scale of suffering, on preserving the dignity of those in need, and on the importance of saying goodbye.

Human rights are standards that recognize and protect the dignity of all human beings. Human rights govern how individual human beings live in society, as well as their relationship with the State and the obligations that the State has towards them. Human rights law obliges governments to do some things and prevents them from doing others. Individuals also have responsibilities: in using their human rights, they must respect the rights of others. By integrating human rights in development cooperation, UNICEF ensures inclusive processes where those most vulnerable are not forgotten.

The hashtags that pepper social media may seem innocuous. UN Human Rights helped #QueremosAObtilia (#WeWantObtilia) go viral, leading to the release of abducted human rights activists.  

“It's a very complicated job, but it is meeting people and finding out their stories. It's giving voices to victims. That's what motivates me.”

Matilda Bogner’s job is to bear witness to unspeakable crimes. As head of the United Nations Human Rights mission in Ukraine, she and her team record accounts of horrific abuses and rights violations in a bid to bring the perpetrators to justice and ease the victims’ suffering.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has devastated millions of lives. Civilians have been subjected to summary executions, disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and mass rape. In this episode, Matilda Bogner reflects on the scale of these horrors, the mental health impact of documenting them, and on her urgent quest to raise the alarm with the rest of the world.

“I still find it difficult to understand that people can treat each other in these ways. It never makes sense to me.”