For many people, the Universal Declaration remains an unfulfilled promise, as states' political will to fulfil their obligations lags lamentably behind their pledges. There is a particular risk that, as the current financial crisis unfolds, the worlds poorest and most marginalized individuals and communities could face an even more dire situation than they do at present.
Despite all the current fears and uncertainties, I am encouraged by the enormous attention that the year-long commemoration of the 60th anniversary has brought to the issue of human rights. But we cannot stop here. We are still, 60 years on, a very long way from achieving the goals laid down in the Universal Declaration. No country in the world can sit back complacently and say 'we're there'.
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is generally agreed to be the foundation of international human rights law. Click here to read more about this remarkable document, and to read an article reflecting on its first 60 years by UNA-UK Expert Advisory Panel member Stefanie Grant.
UNA-UK, along with its members and supporters around the country, used the anniversary as an opportunity to improve understanding about human rights and remind the UK government about its human rights obligations. The centrepiece of UNA-UK’s ‘UDHR60’ commemoration was an educational campaign. In partnership with the UK National Commission for UNESCO, and with funding from the Department for International Development and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, we produced a series of lesson plans to support teaching about human rights in British secondary schools.
Another pillar of UNA-UK’s UDHR60 campaign was a competition to stimulate debate about the contribution of individuals to the defence of human rights around the world. Thupten Palden, a member of UNA- UK’s youth and student wing, took first prize for his entry, in support of Tibetan blogger Tsering Woeser. Click here to read more
UNA-UK also sent a delegation to the UN’s annual conference for NGOs. Held for the first time outside of New York, the conference, staged at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters, focused on the contribution of civil society to promoting human rights. Click here to read a report of the conference.
UNA-UK’s members were unstoppable advocates of the declaration in its anniversary year. Click here for snapshots of their UDHR60 initiatives.
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