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Human Rights Day

PG at de novo hosts Blawg Review #138 on Human Rights Day, which is celebrated annually around the world on December 10th.

As noted in Wikipedia, the date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first global enunciation of human rights. The commemoration was established in 1950, when the General Assembly invited all states and interested organizations to celebrate the day as they saw fit.

"Taken as a whole, the Delegation of the United States believes that this is a good document ? even a great document ? and we propose to give it our full support. [...] In giving our approval to the Declaration today it is of primary importance that we keep clearly in mind the basic character of the document. It is not a treaty; it is not an international agreement. It is not and does not purport to be a statement of law or of legal obligation. It is a Declaration of basic principles of human rights and freedoms[....] This Universal Declaration of Human Rights may well become the international Magna Carta of all men everywhere."

~Eleanor Roosevelt, first chairwoman of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) that drafted the Declaration, 9 December 1948.

The day is a high point in the calendar of UN headquarters in New York City, United States, and is normally marked by both high-level political conferences and meetings and by cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues.

Full post as published by Blawg Review on December 10, 2007 (boomark / email).