Human Rights Day 2020

It has been 70 years since the United Nations formally established 10 December as Human Rights Day, after adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights two years earlier. (Fun fact: At more than 500 languages, it is the most translated document in the world.) The Declaration lists 30 human rights, among them freedom, equality, liberty and security.
 
UNFPA’s mandate in protecting women, girls, and youth is grounded in such rights. Gender-based violence and harmful practices — child marriage, female genital mutilation, physical abuse — are violations of human rights. Being denied access to health care or education. Being treated less than because of gender. Being stripped of agency to make decisions about one’s own body and future. All are violations of human rights.
 
“Realizing human rights, equal and inalienable for every person, is the most just and meaningful goal of any society,” says UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem. “Let us embrace human rights, each of us, and not just in laws and declarations, but in people’s lives.”
 
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was described as a “distinct forward step in the march for human progress.” Today, as another 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence comes to a close, we understand that no one is truly free and equal until we are all free and equal. Our march continues.