Editorial reflecting U.S. Government Policy Position: World Human Rights Day 2022

December 10th is World Human Rights Day. The date commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. This is the first time the world has identified this innate human right.

Just three years after the end of the Second World War, with the world still reeling from the horror of the horrific crimes committed against civilians, the United Nations General Assembly made it a priority to codify universal human rights. The final Declaration was based on the premise that all men are born free and equal in dignity and rights, as the first article of the Declaration made clear. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which came into force in 1950, inspired international human rights law and the International Code of Human Rights.

Human Rights Day has been observed on 10 December every year since 1950 to commemorate this important achievement of the then fledgling United Nations. The Nobel Peace Prize was officially awarded on that day. Every year Human Rights Day commemorates a different area of human rights. This year’s theme is “Dignity, Freedom and Justice for All.”

President Biden recently laid out the underlying nature of the document. “[The Universal Declaration of Human Rights] defines the purpose of human rights and fundamental freedoms that all people are born with, no matter who they are, where they come from or whom they love. It is a fundamental document proclaiming the often-overlooked truth that all human beings are born free and enjoy equal dignity and rights. This universal ideal has given birth to transformational human rights treaties and a global commitment to promote equality and dignity for all people as a foundation for freedom, peace and justice.”

“We as a world are not there yet, and we must continue to work to bring history closer to the justice and shared values articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Mr. Biden said. “Just as we advocated for the recognition of universal human rights after World War II, the United States is strongly committed today to advancing human rights for all people, not by the example of our power, but by the power of our example to lead.”