In many parts of the world, the struggle for human rights continues
This year's theme is "Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights"
UN urges people to place human rights at the center of building a post-pandemic world
Human Rights Day is celebrated on Dec. 10, the day that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The declaration includes the "inalienable" rights that every person is entitled to, regardless of factors such as race, language, sex, color, political opinion and social origin.
This year's theme is "Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights." With the year being rather more difficult because of COVID-19, the UN is calling on everyone to place human rights at the center of our efforts to rebuild the world after the pandemic.
"We declare that human rights are for all of us, all the time: whoever we are and wherever we are from; no matter our class, our opinions, our sexual orientation." – Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
"A right delayed is a right denied." – Martin Luther King Jr.
"Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities." – Pope Francis
"Human rights are not a privilege granted by the few, they are a liberty entitled to all, and human rights, by definition, include the rights of all humans, those in the dawn of life, the dusk of life, or the shadows of life." – Kay Granger
"We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist." – James Baldwin
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. … Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." – Eleanor Roosevelt
"To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity." – Nelson Mandela
"Fundamental violations of human rights always lead people feeling less and less human." – Aung San Suu Kyi
"The value of profit over people impedes human rights across much of the world." – Opal Tometi
"If a country doesn't recognize minority rights and human rights, including women's rights, you will not have the kind of stability and prosperity that is possible." – Hillary Clinton
"Our hopes for a more just, safe, and peaceful world can only be achieved when there is universal respect for the inherent dignity and equal rights of all members of the human family." – UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
