Human Rights Day 2021: Date, Theme, History, Significance and More!

Every year, “Human Rights Day” is celebrated across the globe on the day on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a milestone document, which proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being - regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth or another status. The document is available in more than 500 languages.

Human Rights Day 2021: Date

Human Rights Day is celebrated on December 10, every year. The day is observed to celebrate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the UNGA in the year 1948. 

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Human Rights Day 2021: Theme

In 2021, the day will be celebrated under the theme – “EQUALITY - Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights”. This year’s theme relates to 'Equality' and Article 1 of the UDHR – “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

Equality is aligned with the 2030 Agenda and with the UN approach set out in the document Shared Framework on Leaving No One Behind: Equality and Non-Discrimination at the Heart of Sustainable Development. 

Human Rights Day 2021: History

The UNGA adopted the UDHR in December 1948. UNESCO was the first United Nations agency to place the Universal Declaration at the heart of all its action, to promote it across the world through education and the media.

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Human Rights Day 2021: Quotes

• “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Nelson Mandela

• “A right delayed is a right denied.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

• “Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself” — Robert Green Ingersoll

• “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government” — Thomas Jefferson

• “Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight” — Bob Marley

• “Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities” — Pope Francis

• “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” – Elie Wiesel