World Human Rights Day: Our rights, our freedoms, always

By Jean dAmour Mugabo Human Rights Day Celebrations on 10th December 2015 in Rwanda Every year, on 10th of December, the world celebrates the International Human Rights Day in a bid to pro-mote awareness of human rights issues around the world and highlight the efforts of the United Nations and human rights activists to improve global human rights conditions. In accordance with the Universal Declaration of Hu-man Rights adopted and proclaimed by the Gener-al Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1948, especially in its article 1 stating that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brother-hood”, and in its article 19 stating that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without inter-ference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of fron-tiers.”, the ideal of free human beings enjoying freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created to enable everyone enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights. From 1950, December 10th has been marked the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General As-sembly in 1948.This year’s Human Rights Day is de-voted to the launch of a year-long campaign for the 50th anniversary of the two International Covenants on human rights, namely the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Internation-al Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966. The two covenants together with the Universal Dec-laration of Human Rights form the international bill of human rights, setting out the civil, political, economic, social andcultural rights that are the birth right of all human beings.

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World Human Rights Day: Our rights, our freedoms, always