“DECEMBER 10, 2018: THE SEVENTIETH (70TH) ANNIVERSARY OF THE ADOPTION OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS”
PRESS RELEASE
“DECEMBER 10, 2018: THE SEVENTIETH (70TH) ANNIVERSARY OF
THE ADOPTION OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS”
Today, December 10, 2018, the Government and people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas join the international community in commemorating the Seventieth Anniversary of the Adoption of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights.
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 423 of December 4, 1950, invited all Member-States and interested organisations to adopt December 10 each year as Human Rights Day, to observe this day to celebrate the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to continue efforts to cause advancement in the field of human progress.
The Commonwealth of The Bahamas became a member of the United Nations on September 18, 1973, and has since upheld the tenants of not only the Charter of the United Nations but also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is heralded as a core foundational document for human rights of all peoples.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which outlines fundamental and universally protected human rights, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. These efforts were led by several prominent individuals, including Eleanor Roosevelt – diplomat, activist and former First Lady of the United States of America.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights observes that rights are inalienable. The Declaration outlines the fundamental rights to freedom of religion or belief, a free and fair world, expression, social security, equality before the law and cultural, artistic & scientific life. It underscores that people should be free from discrimination, torture and slavery.
The Bahamas is State-Party to several United Nations Human Rights Instruments including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
The Bahamas was recently elected as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) for the term 2019-2021, being the first Member-State of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to do so as well as one of the first Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to hold the position.
The theme for the Seventieth Anniversary, “STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS”, serves as an opportunity for the world to celebrate again the gift of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and thereby affirm the enduring human rights principles and standards that it helped establish.
To learn more about the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, please visit: http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/ .
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