“International Human Rights Day reminds us of persisting human rights problems in our communities and in the world, and of the enormous efforts still required to make human rights a reality for all.”
- Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan

Today, millions of people around the globe are celebrating the 61st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amidst the celebrations, however, Human Rights Day also requires us to critically reflect upon our past successes and failures, and to refocus our efforts in addressing the human rights challenges that lie ahead. Kofi Annan’s quote subtly highlights an important component of what our collective efforts must address- the “human rights problems in our communities.” In other words, if human rights are to become a reality on a global scale, people must first work to secure human rights in their local communities where accountability and cultural competency are the greatest. In Atlanta, for instance, thousands of people live without a home or basic healthcare. Instead of regarding these as misfortunes, Atlantans must understand them as violations of a human being’s right to adequate housing and health in order to construct policy solutions that meet the basic tenets and ideals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. What human rights are not realized in your small corner of the world- in your home, in your school, in your workplace, or around your neighborhood? How will you recognize Human Rights Day, both locally and globally?

For some ideas, check out Amnesty International’s Global Write-A-Thon for prisoners of conscience, and read this blog posting by Britt Bravo, which includes a more comprehensive list of Human Rights Day celebrations.

By lesoltis
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 9:31 am and is filed under By Writer, Commemorations, UDHR, lesoltis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.