“Recover Better – Stand Up for Human Rights”: The World Celebrates Human Rights Day

By Chitra Rajpal

The world celebrates International Human Rights Day every year on December 10. The idea behind observing the day is to rejoice in the significance of human rights for all, irrespective of race, religion, sex, language, nationality, origin, etc.

Today, we live in a global world where interconnectedness is an integral part of humanity. Human Rights Day thus re-iterates the need for mutual respect and solidarity between individuals and communities both at the local and the global level.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which has amplified structural inequalities worldwide, the observation of the spirit of Human Rights Day becomes paramount.

The origin of the day lies in the adoption of the benchmark document of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948 in the city of Paris.

The document was adopted with 48 out of then 58 UN members voting in its favour. The document has been translated into more than 520 languages to date.

The theme for Human Rights Day 2020 is “Recover Better – Stand Up for Human Rights”.

The theme puts the enforcement of human rights at the centre and emphasises on the need for rebuilding our world from the ravages of COVID-19 by ensuring better human rights in our recovery efforts.

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