International Human Rights Day 2021 is being celebrated as places around the world continue to see people living without basic human rights.
Human rights are designed to protect us and give guidance to our own entitlements that we have as citizens of the UK.
It is a poignant reminder as countries like China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Myanmar continue to abuse people's basic human rights every day along with countless others.
Recently, Boris Johnson has said there will "effectively be a diplomatic boycott" of the Winter Olympics in Beijing and that no UK ministers or officials will be attending.
Events like Human Rights Day are designed to raise awareness and remind people of how fragile their freedoms can be.
This year, it falls on the same day that the order for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to the United States came through, to the outrage of several human rights groups.
So what is Human Rights Day?
What is Human Rights Day?
Human Rights Day celebrates the signing of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), signed after the Second World War in 1948 by the United Nations (UN).
Each year has a specific theme based on a particular right or freedom set out in the declaration. This year's theme is related to 'equality' and Article One of the UDHR, that "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."
There are 30 rights and freedoms in the UDHR vital to our every day lives.
Human rights NGO Amnesty International, said: "Rights and freedoms set out in the UDHR include the right to asylum, the right to freedom from torture, the right to free speech and the right to education. It includes civil and political rights, like the right to life, liberty, free speech and privacy. It also includes economic, social and cultural rights, like the right to social security, health and education."
When is Human Rights Day?
Human Rights Day takes place every year on December 10, although some countries choose to celebrate it on different days.
December 10 was the day that the UDHR was signed in Paris in 1948. Since its publication, it is believed to be the most translated document in the world.
The UK has its own Human Rights Act, signed into law in 1998 and based on the European Convention on Human Rights, itself partly based on the UDHR.
Recently, the UK government has proposed a shake-up to the Human Rights Act, which has been criticised.
The act provides people in the UK with the following rights:
- Article 2: Right to life
- Article 3: Freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment
- Article 4: Freedom from slavery and forced labour
- Article 5: Right to liberty and security
- Article 6: Right to a fair trial
- Article 7: No punishment without law
- Article 8: Respect for your private and family life, home and correspondence
- Article 9: Freedom of thought, belief and religion
- Article 10: Freedom of expression
- Article 11: Freedom of assembly and association
- Article 12: Right to marry and start a family
- Article 14: Protection from discrimination in respect of these rights and freedoms
- Protocol 1, Article 1: Right to peaceful enjoyment of your property
- Protocol 1, Article 2: Right to education
- Protocol 1, Article 3: Right to participate in free elections
- Protocol 13, Article 1: Abolition of the death penalty
In South Africa, Human Rights Day is celebrated on March 21, in remembrance of the Sharpeville massacre in 1960.
69 people were killed when protesting against the apartheid regime in the country at the time.
Why is it celebrated?
Human rights are shared values that protect us all and governments that do not adopt the use of human rights into law are free to be abusive to their citizens.
The UDHR was signed in the wake of the Second World War, when millions have been killed in the crossfire of the bloodiest conflict in human history.
Six million Jews were also killed in the Holocaust, as were thousands of Romani's along with other ethnic groups and approximately 5,000-15,000 homosexuals.
The reckoning forced the newly formed UN to attempt to ensure nothing similar ever happened again and that rights could not be abused so easily.
Amnesty International said: "The traumatic events of the Second World War brought home that human rights are not always universally respected. The extermination of almost 17 million people during the Holocaust, including 6 million Jews, horrified the entire world.
"After the war, governments worldwide made a concerted effort to foster international peace and prevent conflict. This resulted in the establishment of the UN in June 1945".
