10th December, Human Rights Day

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.

This year, Human Rights Day calls on everyone to stand up for someone’s rights. Disrespect for basic human rights continues to be wide-spread in all parts of the globe. We must reaffirm our common humanity. Wherever we are, we can make a real difference. In the street, in school, at work, in public transport; in the voting booth, on social media.

The time for this is now. Step forward and defend the rights of a refugee or migrant, a person with disabilities, an LGBT person, a woman, a child, indigenous peoples, a minority group, or anyone else at risk of discrimination or violence.

In the coming year, the EU will be pursuing the follow up to the new Global Strategy for the EU’s Foreign and Security Policy, launched in June 2016, in which we pledged to foster respect for human rights both within and outside the EU.