Each year, we celebrate International Human Rights Day on December 10—the day that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was proclaimed in 1948. The United Nations has declared the to be "Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now," noting, "This Human Rights Day, we focus on how human rights are a pathway to solutions, playing a critical role as a preventative, protective, and transformative force for good. This year's theme is a call to acknowledge the importance and relevance of human rights in our everyday lives ... We have an opportunity to change perceptions by speaking up against hate speech, correcting misinformation, and countering disinformation. This is the time to mobilize action to reinvigorate a global movement for human rights."
Now more than ever, it's important to have hope for the future of human rights and continue the work we do to protect and expand the many rights that are fundamental to our existence. Last year, the international community celebrated the 75th anniversary of the UDHR. In recognition of this anniversary, the Carr Center released a publication entitled Making a Movement: The History and Future of Human Rights, which explored the past, present, and future of the human rights movement, evaluating its successes and failures, and presenting potential areas of progress.
The publication contains contributions from 90 Harvard faculty, fellows, and affiliates who evaluated the intersection of the UDHR and global human rights with the themes of racial justice, transitional justice, economic equality, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, security, migration, changing political systems, climate change, advancing technology, and more.