Background

The United Nationals General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 1948. To mark the significance of that document, Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December.

The UDHR … proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Available in more than 500 languages, it is the most translated document in the world.

Human Rights Day 2022

Human Rights Day 2022 marks the start of a year-long campaign to recognise the landmark milestone of the 75th anniversary of the UDHR, which will be celebrated on 10 December 2023.

The theme for this year’s celebrations is Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All. The campaign is seeking to promote understanding and action “towards greater knowledge of the universality of the UDHR”, which in recent years has been under a “sustained assault”.

As the world faces challenges new and ongoing – pandemics, conflicts, exploding inequalities, morally bankrupt global financial system, racism, climate change – the values, and rights enshrined in the UDHR provide guideposts for our collective actions that do not leave anyone behind.

Parliamentary material 

Hansard material referring to Human Rights Day

Hansard material referring to Human Rights

Further reading

United Nations, Human Rights Day 10 December

United NationsHuman Rights, Human Rights Day 2022

United NationsHuman Rights, UDHR 75: Human Rights Day 2022

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Equal justice: learning lessons from complaints about people’s human rights, December 2022

Human Rights (Joint Committee)

Oxford Human Rights Hub

Equality and Human Rights Commission

The British Institute of Human Rights

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