Standing Up as a United Force for Human Rights
Capping an exceptional year of human rights activism with the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
December 10, 2018, marked the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Defining the 30 rights possessed by humanity, the UDHR remains the world’s premier human rights document. However, few can name even more than 10 percent of the 30 rights enshrined in the document. And seven decades after its adoption by the United Nations, human rights abuses abound.
United for Human Rights and its program for young people, Youth for Human Rights International, took on the motto of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—”Stand Up for Human Rights.”
Throughout the past year, they worked to create a culture where these rights are a reality for every member of the human family. In honor of the 70th-anniversary celebration, thousands of volunteers brought human rights to life with conferences, petition drives, marches and open house events in cities around the world.
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“Understanding these rights is the first step in guaranteeing them for everyone,” says Ruslan Khusainov, Executive Director of United for Human Rights. “Teachers and civic leaders report that simply by educating youth on their rights and their responsibility for defending and protecting the rights of others they see remarkable changes in attitudes including less bullying, and greater cooperation and responsibility.”
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Highlights of this year’s Human Rights Day included:
- A symposium in Palazzo Montecitorio, seat of the Italian Parliament, sponsored by the Chamber of Deputies and the City Halls of Rome and 17 other nearby cities.
- 15,000 participated in the Youth for Human Rights march in Lucknow, India.
- United for Human Rights helped organize a conference at the United Nations Office in Geneva, the second-largest of the four major office sites of the United Nations, hosted by the UN diplomatic missions of Estonia, Finland, the Philippines and Slovakia.
- Youth for Human Rights carried out a week-long campaign in Sacramento, California, to educate legislators and officials on the need for human rights education and to gain support for legislation to make it mandatory in all California schools.
- A “Stand Up for Human Rights” march in Washington, D.C., beginning at Lincoln Memorial.
- There were Stand Up for Human Rights marches, petition drives, booths and workshops around the world, including in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Liberia, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Togo, Uruguay, Venezuela, and throughout the United States.
United for Human Rights is an international, not-for-profit organization dedicated to implementing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at local, regional, national and international levels. Its membership is comprised of individuals, educators and groups throughout the world who are actively forwarding the knowledge and protection of human rights by and for all Mankind.
Education is the foundation and catalyst for changing the state of human rights in the world, but educators need effective materials and tools they can use to easily incorporate human rights in their curriculum. United for Human Rights fulfills this need with award-winning videos, booklets and educator guides, online courses in the 30 articles of the UDHR and virtual online education available through the app.
