THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: 1948 – 2008

BAN KI-MOON, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS MESSAGE ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

Last year, on 10 December, Human Rights Day, the Secretary-General launched a year-long campaign involving all sectors of the United Nations family in the lead up to the 60th birthday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Human Rights Day 2008.

The theme of the campaign, “Dignity and justice for all of us”, reinforces the vision of the Declaration as a commitment to universal dignity and justice and not something that should be viewed as a luxury or a wishlist.
The extraordinary vision and determination of the drafters produced a document that for the first time set out universal human rights for all people in an individual context. Now available in more than three hundred and sixty languages, the Declaration is the most translated document in the world – a testament to its universal nature and reach. It has inspired the constitutions of many newly independent States and many new democracies. It has become a yardstick by which we measure respect for what we know, or should know, as right and wrong.
The Declaration remains as relevant today as it did on the day it was adopted. But the fundamental freedoms enshrined in it are still not a reality for everyone. Too often, Governments lack the political will to implement international norms they have willingly accepted. This anniversary year is an occasion to build up that will. It is a chance to ensure that these rights are a living reality – that they are known, understood and enjoyed by everyone, everywhere. I t is often those who most need their human rights protected, who also need to be informed that the Declaration exists – and that it exists for them.
May this year reinvigorate us in that mission. Let us make the Universal Declaration of Human Rights an integral part of everyone’s life.