Our world is at a crossroads.  

 

The COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and the expansion of digital technology into all areas of our lives have created new threats to human rights.

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Exclusion and discrimination are rampant.

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Public space is shrinking.

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Poverty and hunger are rising for the first time in decades.

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Millions of children are missing out on their right to education.

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Inequality is deepening.

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But we can choose a different path.

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Seventy-three years ago today, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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The principles set out in this simple Declaration remain the key to realizing all human rights – civil, economic, cultural, social, and political – for all people, everywhere.

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Recovery from the pandemic must be an opportunity to expand human rights and freedoms, and to rebuild trust.

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Trust in the justice and impartiality of laws and institutions.

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Confidence that a life of dignity is within reach.

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Faith that people can get a fair hearing and resolve their grievances peacefully.

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The United Nations stands for the rights of every member of our human family.

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Today and every day, we will continue to work for justice, equality, dignity and human rights for all.

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Happy Human Rights Day.