December 10, every year, the world celebrates International Human Rights Day. The day which is to commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly which happened in 1948, has since become an opportunity for people and organisations around the world to unite in pursuit of “Equality, Freedom and Justice for All”.
Human Rights are the essential rights all human beings share everywhere in the world irrespective of race, gender, faith or creed, background or status. They are not privileges for a few but rights that every human being must enjoy as a constant – the right to life, to safety; the freedom to speak freely and associate freely, to learn, to be entitled to our beliefs, to participate in decisions that affect us, and many others. These constitute the bedrock of our lives.
This year, the theme for International Human Rights Day is “Human Rights, Our Everyday Essentials.” This theme reminds us that rights are not abstract or distant concepts. They are things we need every day, things that affect our everyday lives, things that determine our quest to live freely and happily as human beings.
NOA calls on all Nigerians to continue to promote freedom, tolerance and justice as core values that shape us as a civilised society.
