The 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
There is One Law, the law of reciprocity, which can be observed by
a selfless conscience, together with a sense of awakened justice. –H.I.K.
The theme for Human Rights Day this year will be the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which is observed by the international community every year on December 10th. It commemorates the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the UDHR. This document, along with two subsequent Covenants, is a milestone in the history of human rights, drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world. The UDHR set out, for the first time, the fundamental civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that everyone is entitled to, to be universally protected.
An excellent overview of the UDHR, including a short video that highlights the important contribution of Eleanor Roosevelt, can be found here.
In past years, Sufi centers, with Amnesty International’s Inter-Religious Urgent Action Network sponsorship, held Universal Worship services that included representatives of different faiths to celebrate Human Rights Day. In recent years, Amnesty International has featured their Write for Rights campaign, a simple letter-writing program that aims to bring about change to the lives of people or communities that have suffered or at risk of human rights violations, including torture, harassment, or unjust imprisonment.
All individuals and groups are invited to participate!