Tuesday, 26 January 2016

International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust 2016 , January 27th.



Día Internacional de Commemoracion en memoria de las victimas del Holocausto, 27 de Enero.
紀念國際日大屠殺的受害者的記憶, 1月27日.


 

 
 
 
 
 
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
 
 
During the Second World War, six million Jews were systematically rounded up and exterminated.  The Nazis also murdered Sinti and Roma, political prisoners, homosexuals, persons with disabilities, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Soviet prisoners of war.
The Holocaust was a colossal crime.  No-one can deny the evidence that it happened.  By remembering the victims and honouring the courage of the survivors and those who assisted and liberated them, we annually renew our resolve to prevent such atrocities and reject the hateful mentality that allows them.
From the shadow of the Holocaust and the cruelties of the Second World War, the United Nations was established to reaffirm faith in the dignity and worth of every person and to uphold the rights of all to live in equality and free from discrimination.
These principles remain essential today.  People worldwide – including millions fleeing war, persecution and deprivation – continue to suffer discrimination and attacks.  We have a duty to remember the past – and to help those who need us now.
For more than a decade, the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme has worked to educate young people about the Holocaust.  Many partners – including Holocaust survivors – continue to contribute to this essential work.
The memory of the Holocaust is a powerful reminder of what can happen when we stop seeing our common humanity.  On this day of Holocaust remembrance, I urge everyone to denounce political and religious ideologies that set people against people.  Let us all speak out against anti-Semitism and attacks against religious, ethnic or other groups.  Let us create a world where dignity is respected, diversity is celebrated, and peace is permanent.


 
 
EVENTS :  2016 Calendar of Holocaust Remembrance.
The theme for the Holocaust remembrance and education activities in 2016, including the Holocaust Memorial Ceremony, is “The Holocaust and Human Dignity”. The theme links Holocaust remembrance with the founding principles of the United Nations and reaffirms faith in the dignity and worth of every person that is highlighted in the United Nations Charter, as well as the right to live free from discrimination and with equal protection under the law that is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Holocaust, which resulted in the destruction of nearly two thirds of European Jewry, remains one of the most painful reminders of the international community’s failure to protect them.
 
Monday, 25 January 2016
  • Exhibit Opening "Holocaust by Bullets” (Private reception by invitation only)
    Venue: Visitors’ Lobby, General Assembly Building
    Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
    Contact: valerie.guillamo@diplomatie.gouv.fr
    The exhibition "Holocaust by Bullets" presents the results of hundreds of days of fieldwork that enabled Yahad-In Unum to collect evidence of massacres during the Second World War in order to in order to return memory and dignity to Jewish victims. It also underscores the "Holocaust by Bullets" as a precursor and model for mass crimes today. The exhibit is organized by the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations. Special guest at the exhibit opening: Father Patrick Desbois, President of Yahad-In Unum. The exhibition will be on view through 9 February 2016.
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
  • Exhibit Opening “Life after Survival” (by invitation only)

    Venue: Visitors’ Lobby, General Assembly Building
    Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
    Contact: katharina.kalaschnikow@diplo.de

    “Life after Survival” opening of an exhibit on child Holocaust survivors cared for by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration at Kloster Indersdorf, in the American Zone in Germany. Sponsored by Concentration Camp Memorial Site Flossenbürg, Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations, and Heimatverein Indersdorf and Lagergemeinschaft Dachau. Special guests at the exhibit opening: several Holocaust survivors who appear in the historical photos and Anna Andlauer, exhibition curator. The exhibition will be on view through 9 February 2016.
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
  • United Nations Holocaust Memorial Ceremony
    International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust
    Venue: General Assembly Hall
    Time: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
    Contact: holocaustremembrance@un.org 

    The event will be hosted by Ms. Cristina Gallach, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. Invited speakers include United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; H. E. Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, President of the seventieth session of the General Assembly; H.E. Mr. Danny Danon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations; H.E. Ms. Samantha Power, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations and H.E. Mr. Felix Klein, Special Representative for relations with Jewish Organizations, issues relating to Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Remembrance. In addition, Mr. Szabolcs Takács, the Chair of the Holocaust Remembrance Alliance will make a statement. Ms. Barbara Winton will open a video tribute to her father, Sir Nicholas Winton, who rescued 669 children from the Holocaust on the Czech Kindertransport.    
    Mrs. Beate Klarsfeld (Germany) will be keynote speaker. Personal testimony will be delivered by Jewish Holocaust survivors Mrs. Marta Wise and Mr. Haim Roet, and by Mr. Zoni Weisz, a Sinto survivor. The Holocaust memorial prayers will be recited by cantor Gideon Zelermyer. He will be accompanied by Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue Choir from Montreal (Canada). Roma musicians Antal Kopar (guitar) and Bela Horvath (violin) will play during the ceremony. The event will conclude with a performance by the United States Military Academy at West Point Jewish Chapel Choir.
  • Concert and Lecture (by invitation only)

    “In Memoriam: Hungarian Composers – Victims of the Holocaust”

    Venue: Permanent Mission of Hungary to the United Nations
    Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
    Contact: EvaSchafer@mfa.gov.hu
    “In Memoriam: Hungarian Composers – Victims of the Holocaust” will introduce the work of Hungarian composers of Jewish origin who were murdered during the Holocaust. The stories of these composers remain largely unknown. All of them died young, before being able to fulfill their potential. In spite of the adverse circumstances, they had produced work of value. The event will feature a concert by the professors of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music: Vilmos Szabadi (violin), Mariann Marczi (piano) and Eszter Karasszon (cello), who will perform pieces by Hungarian composers Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Lajos Delej, György Justus and Imre Sárossi. The program will include a lecture by Agnes Kory, founder of the Béla Bartók Centre for Musicianship in London. The event is part of the commemorative events dedicated to Hungary’s Chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
Thursday, 28 January 2016
  • United Nations Department of Public Information NGO Briefing
    “The Future of Holocaust Education”
    Venue: Conference Room 4
    Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
    Contact: undpingo@un.org 

    This briefing brings together experts from academic institutions and international organizations, researchers, educators and authors who will examine current trends in Holocaust research and education. Key questions to be addressed include how to expand teacher training and Holocaust education around the world; how to adapt to a changing environment with the rise of multicultural classroom settings and fewer and fewer eye witnesses to testify to the Holocaust and what role international organizations have to play in the field.

    The panellists will include Szabolcs Takács, Chair of IHRA, International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; Debórah Dwork, Rose Professor of Holocaust History and Director, Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Clark University; Professor Zehavit Gros, Chairholder, UNESCO/Burg Chair in Education for Human Values, Tolerance and Peace, Bar-llan University; Cecilie Felicia Stokholm Banke, Senior Researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies and Jane Jacobs-Kimmelman, Director of the International Relations Department at the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem. The discussion will be moderated by Kimberly Mann, the Chief of the Education Outreach Section in the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of Public Information.
Thursday, 28 January 2016
  • Film Screening "Woman in Gold"

    Venue: Trusteeship Council
    Time: 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
    Contact: holocaustremembrance@un.org 

    The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme, in partnership with the World Jewish Congress and the Weinstein Company, will organize the film screening and discussion that will shed light on the loss of personal property and humiliation that Jewish families endured in Nazi-occupied Europe, and how difficult it has been for them to attain justice. Participants will gain insight into the desperate situation faced by the victims of the Holocaust under a reign of terror and the complete breakdown of fair legal practice. For many families, the plunder of art and personal assets remains one of many unsolved transgressions committed by the Nazis.

    Directed by Simon Curtis, Woman in Gold is the remarkable true story of one woman’s journey to reclaim her heritage and seek justice for what happened to her family. Sixty years after she fled Vienna during the Second World War, Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), an elderly Jewish woman, starts her journey to retrieve family possessions seized by the Nazis,among them Klimt's famous painting Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. Together with her inexperienced but plucky young lawyer, Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), she embarks upon a major battle that takes them all the way to the heart of the Austrian establishment and the United States Supreme Court, and forces her to confront difficult truths about the past along the way.

    Participants at the New York event will include Ms. Cristina Gallach, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information; Mr. Simon Curtis, Director, Woman in Gold, Ms. Evelyn Sommer, Chair, World Jewish Congress, North America, Ms. Monica Dugot, International Director of Restitution, Christie’s, and Mr. Simon Wesley A. Fisher, Director of Research, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc. and Head of Claims Conference-WJRO Looted Art and Cultural Property Initiative.




Worldwide Events : International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance


 
 
RESOURCES :


Holocaust Museums and Memorials
 

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The '' Year in Review 2015'' United Nations

The "UN Year in Review 2015" remembers once more the daunting challenges the United Nations faced in its 70th anniversary year - but also gives a glimpse of what can be achieved, when we all work together





2015 by UN Radio

An historic agreement on climate change which commits countries to keeping global temperature rises to below two degrees Celsius. Adoption of a new global agenda that promises a sustainable future for all people and the planet. A call from Pope Francis urging leaders to do more for the world's most disadvantaged people in times of peace and war. These were some of the top stories covered by UN Radio over the past year.


2015 in 100 photos

Tackling the Ebola Crisis. Assisting a record number of refugees fleeing violence. Guaranteeing Women's and LGBT Rights. Spearheading an ambitious new global Climate Change agreement. These are just a few of the UN's most pressing challenges from 2015. From our peacekeepers on the ground, to the halls of the U.N. Security Council, these 100 photos present a unique view of the UN's efforts over the past year to ensure human rights and international peace and security for all.

Five challenges for the UN in 2015

One of the rationales for why international organizations are necessary is that they act as force multipliers. Solving problems that cross international borders requires coordinated action, and international organizations like the UN orchestrate a global response.


Global Risks 2016 ( World Economic Forum)

This 11th edition of The Global Risks Report is published at a time of profound change. Global risks materialize in new and unexpected ways and are becoming more imminent as their consequences reach people, institutions and economies.



The 10 risks in terms of Likelihood, Top 10 risks in terms of Impact. By Categories
Over the past decade, The Global Risks Report has expanded its scope from analysing the interconnected and rapidly evolving nature of global risks to also putting forward actionable solutions and calling for public-private collaboration in strengthening resilience. Now in its 11th edition, the Report describes a world in which risks are becoming more imminent and have wide-ranging impact: tensions between countries affect businesses; unresolved, protracted crises have resulted in the largest number of refugees globally since World War II; terrorist attacks take an increasing toll on human lives and stifle economies; droughts occur in California and floods in South Asia; and rapid advances in technologies are coupled with ever-growing cyber fragilities and persistent unemployment and underemployment.
Implications of sweeping digitization (also termed the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”), ranging from transformations that are the result of rising cyber connectivity to the potential effects of innovations on socioeconomic equality and global security, remain far from fully understood. At the same time, climate change is unequivocally happening, and there is no turning back time.
The increasing volatility, complexity and ambiguity of the world not only heightens uncertainty around the “which”, “when”, “where” and “who” of addressing global risks, but also clouds the solutions space. We need clear thinking about new levers that will enable a wide range of stakeholders to jointly address global risks, which cannot be dealt with in a centralized way.
Taken together, this calls for a resilience imperative – an urgent necessity to find new avenues and more opportunities to mitigate, adapt to and build resilience against global risks and threats through collaboration among different stakeholders.
By putting the resilience imperative at its core, this year’s Global Risks Report combines four parts to present an analysis of different aspects of global risks – across both global risks and stakeholders – focused as much on the search for solutions as on the analysis of the risks themselves.
 
The Risks-Trends Interconnection Map 2016
 
 
 
 
 
 
From the refugee crisis to economic slowdowns in emerging markets, from ever-rising numbers of terrorist and cyberattacks to water shortages, global risks have been in the headlines in the last year. Yet so have initiatives to address them, such as the COP21 meeting on reducing greenhouse gas emissions or European Union (EU) summits to address the refugee crisis. The Global Risks Report exists to raise awareness about global risks and their potential interconnections, and to provide a platform for discussion and action to mitigate, adapt and strengthen resilience.

 
 
United Nations Conferences and Incentives 2015 :
 


United Nations Observances in 2015
 
About The United Nations International Days, Weeks, Years,  Anniversaries and Decades :
 
International Years :

 International Days :
　

 
  
Flagship Titles of 2015
UNilibrary




 
70 Years, 70 Documents exhibit
    



70 Years, 70 documents - Dag Hammarskjöld Library

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International Human Solidarity Day 2015, December 20th.


 
 
 
2015年主题：本着全球团结寻求共同进步与繁荣.
Тема 2015 года «Всеобщий прогресс и процветание благодаря глобальной солидарности»
2015 Theme: Shared Progress & Prosperity based on global solidarity.
Tema del 2015: Prosperidad y progreso compartidos y basados en la solidaridad mundial.
Thème 2015 : « Progrès et prospérité partagés et fondés sur la solidarité mondiale »
موضوع 2015 — تقدم ورخاء مشتركين قائمين على التضامن العالمي


Sustainable Development Goals



United Nations Secretary-General's Message for the International Human Solidarity Day 2015.

By adopting the historic 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, world leaders expressed their resolve to seek shared progress and prosperity based on a spirit of global solidarity. The Paris Agreement on climate change marks another important milestone for our planet and all people.

These achievements were driven by two complementary goals:  to leave no one behind, and to build a life of dignity for all.  This spirit of global solidarity t must now inspire our collective response to other major challenges facing humankind.

This is especially true in addressing plight of the record number of people around the world forced from their homes and communities.  Far too many have fled violent extremists only to be victimized again by xenophobia, discrimination and abuse.  We must collectively challenge all those who stoke unfounded fears.  Helping the vulnerable elevates us all.

With diversity under verbal and violent attack in so many parts of the world, let us make the most of International Human Solidarity Day by reaffirming our common humanity, defending our shared values and creating a better future for all.

Ban Ki-moon
 
 
RESOURCES :
Human Development Report 2015: Work for Human Development.
 
This Report starts with a fundamental question—how can work enhance human development? The Report takes a broad view of work, going beyond jobs and taking into account such activities as unpaid care work, voluntary work and creative work—all of which contribute to the richness of human lives.
 
Work for Human Development :  Human Development Report 2015 - UNDP
 

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International Migrants Day 2015, December 18th.


 
 
Theme 2015 : " I am a Migrant ".
Tema del 2015: «Soy un Migrante»
 
 
Worldwide #IamaMigrant Candlelight Vigil to Remember Lost Migrant Lives
 
 
2015 will be remembered as a year of human suffering and migrant tragedies.  Over the past 12 months, more than 5,000 women, men and children lost their lives in search of protection and a better life.  Tens of thousands more have been exploited and abused by human traffickers.  And millions have been made into scapegoats and become the targets of xenophobic policies and alarmist rhetoric.

But 2015 was also a year in which the global community underscored the important contribution of migrants to sustainable development.  With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, world leaders vowed to protect the labour rights of migrant workers, combat transnational criminal human trafficking networks, and promote well-regulated migration and mobility.  By addressing root causes, the 2030 Agenda also seeks to tackle the development, governance and human rights challenges that are driving people to flee their homes in the first place.

The world urgently needs to build upon these efforts with a new global compact on human mobility based on better cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination, with enhanced responsibility sharing, and full respect of the human rights of migrants, regardless of their status.

We must expand safe channels for regular migration, including for family reunification, labour mobility at all skill levels, greater resettlement opportunities, and education opportunities for children and adults.  I also urge all countries to sign and ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; only one-fourth of UN Member States have done so. 

These principles and ideas will be part of the implementation of the roadmap to address the large movements of migrants and refugees that I have presented to the General Assembly. 

On International Migrants Day, let us commit to coherent, comprehensive and human-rights based responses guided by international law and standards and a shared resolve to leave no one behind.
Ban Ki-moon
 
IOM Director General William Lacy Swing Statements on International Migrants Day 2015.

To mark this year’s International Migrants Day on December 18, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is calling on the international community to come together and remember the refugees and migrants who have tragically lost their lives this year.

IOM invites the international community to hold the first global Candlelight Vigil to commemorate the lives that have been lost or have disappeared while trying to reach safe harbour after arduous journeys across seas and deserts this year. Each person has a name, a story and left their homelands seeking better opportunities and safety for themselves and in many cases for their families - aspirations that all of us strive for.

In commemoration of the thousands of lives lost this year and each year during migration, IOM is encouraging the distribution of white wristbands with the inscription #IamaMigrant which will serve as the theme for the day as well as a powerful social media hashtag.

The Candlelight Vigil is a renewed opportunity to increase awareness on drivers of migration, and most importantly shift the narrative of migration towards a positive recognition of the many ways migrants contribute to host societies.

The candlelight should become the symbol of our solidarity with migrants and their families and remind us that for many, migration is often the only sliver of light left for millions of people around the world.
IOM will remain steadfast in ensuring that the international community stays fully committed to saving migrants lives.
We must ensure that their lives have not been lost in vain. We must not forget them.
 
 
 
 
Conferences and Events
(organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Friday, 18 December 2015, from 10:00 to 13:00, in Conference Room 11.
[All are invited. For further information, please contact Ms. Olivia Headon, IOM
(e-mail oheadon@iom.int; tel. 1 (212) 681-7000, ext. 221); please email rsvpnewyork@iom.int for registration.]
Action on Social media
  • Use hash tag #MigrantsDay and #IamaMigrant to commemorate the international day and join the worldwide Candlelight Vigil to Remember Lost Migrant Lives

RESOURCES :

NEWS:

 
 
 
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International Mountain Day, December 11th.

 
 
International Mountain Day
 
 
 
 
 
 
Promoting Mountain Products for better livelihoods
 
 
Promoting mountain products is the theme chosen for this year’s celebration of International Mountain Day. Globalization offers opportunities for mountain producers to market their high quality mountain products, such as coffee, cocoa, honey, herbs, spices and handicrafts at the national, regional and international levels. Though mountain agriculture cannot compete with the prices and volumes of lowland production, it can concentrate on high value, high quality products to boost local economies.
Tourism-related services such as skiing, climbing, cultural heritage or nature trails that allow visitors to discover unique biodiversity are also some of the offerings provided by mountains and mountain communities. If sustainably managed, tourism can provide an opportunity for development in mountain regions.

International Mountain Day 2015 provides an occasion to highlight how mountain communities are protecting biodiversity by producing a large variety of typical products and providing crucial goods and services to all of us.


Mapping the vulnerability of mountain peoples to food insecurity.


 EVENTS : International mountain day 2015 – around the world

While Promoting mountain products is the suggested theme for 2015, countries, communities and organizations are welcome to celebrate International Mountain Day through the choice of a different theme that might be more relevant to them.


RESOURCES:
Promoting Mountain Products for Better Livelihoods (Factsheet 2015)
International Mountain Day 2015 (FAO)
Sustainable mountain resources management via research, conservation and information sharing (UNESCO)
United Nations Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform (Mountains)

 
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Human Rights Day 2015, December 10th

Human Rights Day, 10 December.
 Día de los Derechos Humanos, 10 de diciembre.
人权日, 12月10日.
День прав человека, 10 декабря.
Journée des droits de l'homme, 10 Décembre.
اليوم العالمي لحقوق الإنسان، في 10 ديسمبر كانون الاول.




Theme 2015 : Our Rights, Our Freedoms Always.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Statement on Human Rights Day 2015.

Amid large-scale atrocities and widespread abuses across the world, Human Rights Day should rally more concerted global action to promote the timeless principles that we have collectively pledged to uphold.

In a year that marks the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, we can draw inspiration from the history of the modern human rights movement, which emerged from the Second World War.

At that time, President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States identified four basic freedoms as the birthright of all people: freedom of expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.  His wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, joined forces at the United Nations with human rights champions from around the world to enshrine these freedoms in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Today’s extraordinary challenges can be seen – and addressed – through the lens of the four freedoms.

First: freedom of expression, which is denied to millions of people and increasingly under threat. We must defend, preserve and expand democratic practices and space for civil society. That is essential to lasting stability.

Second: freedom of worship. Around the world, terrorists have hijacked religion, betraying its spirit by killing in its name. Others are targeting religious minorities and exploiting fears for political gain.  In response, we must promote respect for diversity based on the fundamental equality of all people and the right to freedom of religion.

Third: freedom from want still plagues so much of humankind. World leaders in September adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with the aim of ending poverty and enabling all people to live in dignity on a peaceful, healthy planet. Now we must do everything possible to realize this vision.

Fourth: freedom from fear. Millions of refugees and internally displaced persons are a tragic product of the failure to fulfil this freedom. Not since the Second World War have so many people been forced to flee their homes. They run from war, violence and injustice across continents and oceans, often risking their lives. In response, we must not close but open doors and guarantee the right of all to seek asylum, without any discrimination. Migrants seeking an escape from poverty and hopelessness should also enjoy their fundamental human rights.

Today we reaffirm our commitment to protecting human rights as the foundation of our work. This is the spirit of the UN’s Human Rights up Front initiative, which aims to prevent and respond to large-scale violations.

On Human Rights Day, let us recommit to guaranteeing the fundamental freedoms and protecting the human rights of all.

Ban Ki-moon



For Human Rights Day 10 December Zeid calls for universal ratification and respect for the ‘bedrock’ human rights treaties


GENEVA (9 December 2015) – Two fundamental human rights treaties adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966 are as important and relevant today as they were half a century ago and should be ratified by all States, UN High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a message for Human Rights Day.

Zeid’s call comes on the eve of the 50th anniversary year of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

“The two Covenants are the bedrock of what we now recognize as international human rights law*,” said Zeid. “They have to date been ratified by 168 and 164 States respectively, but 27 countries have ratified neither and eight States have ratified only one. In the past five years, the number of ratifications has dwindled to an average of just one a year,” he noted.

“Today, we face new, evolving and alarming issues such as climate change, terrorism, the growth of hate speech against religious and racial minorities, curbs on freedom of speech and of association and on workers’ rights, and the threat to privacy in an increasingly digital world,” Zeid said.

“The challenges of our age are confronting us with hard choices amid mounting intolerance and inhumanity. The Covenants, together with the legal framework and jurisprudence of the expert Committees who oversee their implementation, can help us navigate these challenges,” said the High Commissioner.

“The Covenants spell out fundamental freedoms – freedom from fear, freedom from want, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. They also detail rights that cover so many facets of human life: the right to liberty, to security, to education, to health, to equality between men and women and the elimination of all forms of discrimination,” he said.

“The Covenants are not dry, abstract legal texts but vital tools to ensure freedoms are upheld and promoted, and crises are met with coherent and humane responses. They make a difference to the everyday lives of people in countries that have ratified them,” the High Commissioner stressed.

“States should see becoming a party to both the Covenants as a positive decision that leads to constructive monitoring and guidance on improving compliance with international human rights norms,” Zeid said.

“The two Covenants are also a means for people to hold their governments to account for respecting and upholding civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and to secure redress and reparation for human rights violations,” he added. “But 50 years on, far too many people do not know their rights or how to claim them, which is why my Office is launching a year-long campaign, entitled ‘Our Rights, Our Freedoms, Always,’ to promote and raise awareness of the Covenants.”


Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December. It commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, the Assembly passed resolution 423 (V), inviting all States and interested organizations to observe 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.

This year's Human Rights Day is devoted to the launch of a year-long campaign for the 50th anniversary of the two International Covenants on Human Rights: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966.

The two Covenants, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, form the International Bill of Human Rights, setting out the civil, political, cultural, economic, and social rights that are the birth right of all human beings.

"Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always." aims to promote and raise awareness of the two Covenants on their 50th anniversary. The year-long campaign revolves around the theme of rights and freedoms -- freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear -- which underpin the International Bill of Human Rights are as relevant today as they were when the Covenants were adopted 50 years ago. For more this year's theme and the year-long campaign, see the website of the UN Human Rights office.



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