Celebrating 66th Anniversary Of UDHR

At the 317th plenary
meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations, on the 4th  day of  December 1950, to be precise, the Human  Right Day was formally established. This followed the General Assembly’s declaration of resolution 423 (v) inviting all member-states and any other interested organisations to celebrate the day as they deem fit.
The tenth day of December, was therefore chosen as the World Human Right Day  to honour the United Nations-Assembly’s  adoption and proclamation on December 10,1948, of the Universal  Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human right and one of the first major achievements of new United Nations
The tremendous irreparable damage  and loss of valuable human lives in the second world war, believed to be the worst ever human rights violation during the time no doubt, opened the eyes of the leaders to the need to uphold the right  of the masses to life and to exercise some degrees of freedom unhindered.
Against this backdrop, the founding member-countries of the then newly established United Nations, joined hands to draft many solid laws aimed at promoting and protecting the primary human rights of its citizens, hence,  establishing that “respect for human rights and human modesty is the pillar of freedom, peace and justice in the world.
Today, member-countries who are human rights compliant join the rest of the world to observe this all-important day by showcasing events which are focused on the Universal Seclaration of  Human Rights, as well as events aimed at educating people especially  the younger generation on their  human rights and the importance of upholding them in their domains  and beyond.
Ofcourse, the day’s events do not preclude  protests  in some quarters, where the universal  declaration of human rights is not recognised or respected, in addition to cultural  events organised to celebrate the importance of human rights through music, dance, drama or  fine art.
However, beyond the usual events and colours designed to celebrate the day, hangs a question  mark, which answer, not many countries  have been able to  provide.
66 years down the line, what percent age of  protection do member-countries accord their citizens, what degree of respect  to human rights is observed  in our countries? What is our perception of those interlinked and interdependent rights inherent in all humans without any discrimination of any nationality, ethnic origin, sex, religion, language or cast and creed or any other status?
I think that celebrating the 66th  anniversary of the universal declaration on human right (UDHR) should call for more  commitment to universal  modesty and justice and not to be viewed as a wish-list or luxury  as it will help in revitalising  the vision of the declaration.
The day should rather awaken the consciousness  of every leader and government to the fact that they are liable to  uphold, express and guarantee the basic human rights in all its purity, by means of laws,  general principles  treatise, primary transnational laws, and other  international  laws.
In the wake of the economic melt down, of faced by many countries, the government, as a matter of responsibility, has to do everything possible to ensure that the current slowdown does not  affect the fundamental rights to work, food, housing, health, education and social security of the people

Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi