“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a miraculous text,” said Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “At a time when the world emerged from cataclysmic events, the Declaration set out universal rights and recognized the equal worth of every person.”

On Human Rights Day (10 December), UN Human Rights will launch a year-long campaign to promote and recognise the 75^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR 75), which will be celebrated on 10 December 2023. The year-long campaign will showcase the UDHR by focusing on its legacy, relevance and activism using the slogan, “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All.”

“The Declaration – which was drafted by representatives from all over the world – embodies a common language of our shared humanity, a unifying force at the heart of which lies human dignity and the duty of care we owe each other as human beings,” Türk said.

It is the global blueprint for international, national, and local laws and policies. The Declaration is also a foundation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, which promotes an economy that invests in human rights and works for everyone.

The UDHR 75 campaign will increase global awareness of the UDHR by showing how the Declaration has guided the work of the Office. It will then promote the universality of human rights and empower everyone, especially young people, to stand up for human rights.

Since the adoption of the UDHR in 1948, human rights have been more guaranteed and recognised around the world including improvements in the rights of women, children, and young people, of indigenous people to guard and maintain their land and culture, and the abolition of the death penalty in many countries.

But the promise of the UDHR, of dignity and equality in rights, has been under attack. The world is facing a climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing conflicts, economic instability, misinformation, racial injustice, and global setbacks on women’s rights. People are frustrated and have lost trust with what’s being seen as the inaction and irrelevance of governments and institutions in protecting human rights. Young people don’t feel heard or know the existence of the Declaration.

“Even as the 30 articles of the Declaration have sparked transformation in all areas of our lives, the embers of racism, misogyny, inequality, and hatred continue to threaten our world,” Türk said. “The language and spirit of the Declaration have the potential to overcome division and polarization. It can make peace with nature, our planet, and point the way to sustainable development for future generations.”