It's Human Rights Day
Today, December 10th, marks Human Rights Day as proclaimed by the United Nations. The purpose of the day is to highlight the UN’s own Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created on this date in 1948. It’s definitely worth a read, as many of the rights declared then continue to cause controversy today.
A few highlights:
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”
There are thirty different articles in the declaration, so it’s not so long that you can’t read it over your morning coffee break. It might be tricky to have a party in honor of today’s celebration, but you can definitely take today to learn a little more. In case your desire for knowledge of human rights issues is not slaked, don’t forget we have tons of books on the topic at our various library locations.