In news– Human Rights Day is observed on December 10, every year
About Human Rights Day-
- This day is celebrated to raise awareness about people’s social, cultural and physical rights and to ensure the welfare of everyone.
- The theme for 2021 is “Equality, Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights.”
- It was on 10 December 1948, UNGA adopted 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 opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
- The Declaration is the most translated document in the world which is available in more than 500 languages.
- The formal inception of Human Rights Day dates from 1950, after the Assembly passed resolution 423(V) inviting all States and interested organisations to adopt 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.
- Besides, it is traditionally on 10 December that the five-yearly United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights are awarded.
- The UDHR, together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols (on the complaints procedure and on the death penalty) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol, form the so-called International Bill of Human Rights.
Human Rights Conventions-
A series of international human rights treaties and other instruments adopted since 1945 have expanded the body of international human rights law. They include:
- The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948).
- The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965).
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979).
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and
- The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006).
Human Rights Council-
- The Human Rights Council, established on 15 March 2006 by the General Assembly and reporting directly to it, replaced the 60-year-old UN Commission on Human Rights as the key UN intergovernmental body responsible for human rights.
- The Council is made up of 47 State representatives and is tasked with strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe by addressing situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on them, including responding to human rights emergencies.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
- It exercises principal responsibility for UN human rights activities.
- The High Commissioner is mandated to respond to serious violations of human rights and to undertake preventive action.
- The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the focal point for United Nations human rights activities.
- It serves as the secretariat for the Human Rights Council, the treaty bodies (expert committees that monitor treaty compliance) and other UN human rights organs.
- It also undertakes human rights field activities
Source: India Today
