December 10th is the date the United Nations observes Human Rights Day, commemorating the 1948 UN adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In this document the international organization recognizes “the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family [as] the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
More information on the history of Human Rights Day and Week, December 10th-17th, is available through the Law Library of Congress. Online documents relating to Human Rights Day include:
- Proclamation 2866, in which President Harry S. Truman proclaimed Human Rights day in 1949;
- a worldwide collection of UDHR materials collected by the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights;
- current fact sheets about global issues such as the rights to water, health, adequate housing, food, and expression.
Humanrights.gov is the official site for the U.S. government’s information about human rights. Here you can read recent news and reports about issues such as disability, freedom of expression and of religious observance, LGBT, labor, and other political, civic, and cultural rights. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor provides further access to information on the U.S. mission to spread democracy and respect for human rights worldwide.
Odum Library’s Government Documents collection can provide you with treaties, reports, hearings, and more material, both online and in print, about human rights issues in the United States and the world. Just contact the Government Documents Librarian at 229-245-3748 or ecrogers@valdosta.edu, or stop by the Reference Desk for more assistance. Odum Library is a selective Federal Depository Library to which public access is guaranteed by public law.
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