December 10 - Human Rights Day
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written in 1948, was the first international recognition that all human beings have fundamental rights and liberties.
“December 10 marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a single short document of 30 articles that has probably had more impact on mankind than any other document in modern history,” stated Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2008.
The question of whether peace should be considered a human right has been discussed since at least 1945. It was rejected by the European Union in 1995 on the grounds that peace is not a precondition for human rights.
More recently, a round table took place at the Palace of Nations in Geneva on March 15, 2007, at which a distinguished group of participants spoke eloquently in support of the human right to peace.
In 2009, the issue is on the agenda in Geneva in regards to the current editing of the new Geneva constitution. A group of 8 associations working for peace, human rights, and/or non-violence drafted a proposition (Proposition No. 10) that includes peace as a human right.
