User:XavierV/10dec

'''

Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December.

The date was chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first global enunciation of human rights. The commemoration was established in 1950, when the General Assembly invited all states and interested organisations to celebrate the day as they saw fit.

The day is a high point in the calendar of UN headquarters in New York City, United States, and is normally marked by both high-level political conferences and meetings and by cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues. In addition, it is traditionally on 10 December that five annual United Nations Prizes in the Field of Human Rights are awarded. Many other governmental and nongovernmental organisations active in the human rights field also schedule special events to commemorate the day. The theme of the day for 2006 is the fight against poverty as a human rights issue. Several statements were released on that occasion, including the one issued by 37 United Nations Special Procedures mandate holders

Human Rights Day is marked by many civil society organisations.

Consequently, we call on all States to recognise poverty as a denial of basic human rights, treat the elimination of poverty as a binding obligation, and prioritize poverty reduction in policy and practice, including through meaningful participation of the poor and allocation of resources for the fight against poverty.

Joint statement of special procedure mandate holders

Human Rights Day is marked by many civil society organisations.

Today, poverty prevails as the gravest human rights challenge in the world. Combating poverty, deprivation and exclusion is not a matter of charity, and it does not depend on how rich a country is. By tackling poverty as a matter of human rights obligation, the world will have a better chance of abolishing this scourge in our lifetime...Poverty eradication is an achievable goal.

http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/2006/sg.shtml Message of the United Nations Secretary-General