Human Rights Day presents an opportunity, every year, to celebrate human rights, highlight a specific issue, and advocate for the full enjoyment of all human rights by everyone everywhere.
This year, the spotlight is on the rights of all people — women, youth, minorities, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, the poor and marginalized — to make their voices heard in public life and be included in political decision-making.
These human rights — the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, to peaceful assembly and association, and to take part in government (articles 19, 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) have been at the centre of the historic changes in the Arab world over the past two years, in which millions have taken to the streets to demand change. In other parts of the world, the “99%” made their voices heard through the global Occupy movement protesting economic, political and social inequality.
Make your voice count!
People around the world used #VoiceCount to share their thoughts about the right to participate in public life and political decision-making.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, answered questions from around the world at a Google+ Hangout on 10 December.
Your voice counts: Human Rights Day 2012 promotes participation in public life
“Today, I salute all those who have suffered so much seeking what is rightfully theirs—and all those people in other countries who are also saying we have a voice, we have our rights and we want to participate in the way our societies and economies are run,” says UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay in her opening address to the UN Human Rights Office Human Rights Day event in Geneva.
Every year on 10 December, Human Rights Day commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year’s event in Geneva highlighted the 2012 theme of inclusion and the right to participate in public life with a panel discussion, keynote speeches, musical performances, and the launch of the UN Human Rights Office Arabic website.
The event was also an opportunity to show the new promotional video based on the 2012 slogan, My voice, my right. My voice counts, which included among others, Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of South Africa; Olympic gold medallist, Jamaican Usain Bolt; and Wu Qing, a Chinese human rights defender.
“These rights are supposed to apply to everyone. No one should be excluded from any one of them because they are female, belong to a minority, or worship a certain religion; or because they are gay, have a disability, have particular beliefs, are migrants or belong to a certain racial or ethnic group. We should all have a voice that counts in our societies,” Pillay said.
