HUMAN RIGHTS DAY 2022 - Dignity, Freedom and Justice for All
The new year which is about to begin in just a few weeks, is a landmark year for Human Rights, commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first legal document to set out the fundamental human rights and freedoms to be universally protected. The UDHR guarantees our rights without distinction of nationality, place of residence, gender, national or ethnic origin, religion, language or any other status. As the UN points out: “In the decades since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, human rights have become more recognised and more guaranteed across the globe. It has since served as the foundation for an expanding system of human rights protection that today focuses also on vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and migrants.
However, the promise of the UDHR, of dignity and equality in rights, has been under a sustained assault in recent years. As the world faces challenges new and ongoing – pandemics, conflicts, exploding inequalities, morally bankrupt global financial system, racism, climate change – the values, and rights enshrined in the UDHR provide guideposts for our collective actions that do not leave anyone behind”.
The Greek National Commission for Human Rights (GNCHR), as the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) in Greece and the independent advisory body to the State on matters pertaining to human rights protection and promotion, is actively working for the effective implementation of human rights protection, constantly monitoring developments related to the human rights situation in Greece and abroad and the implementation of human rights law, providing ongoing advisory to the competent bodies of the State. Operating under a modern institutional framework, composed of a diverse group of members and strengthened in terms of financial and human resources, the GNCHR dynamically carries out the mission of being the guardian of human rights in Greece, playing an active role in bridging the gap not only between the State and the Civil Society, but also between the country's international commitments for the implementation of human rights and their actual enjoyment in practice.
Furthermore, 2023 marks 10 years since the establishment of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), of which the GNCHR has been a founding member with a significant presence and contribution to its bodies, decisions, actions and development policies, over the entire period of the Network's operation. The GNCHR has been an ENNHRI's long-standing Board member (2016-2022), with active participation in many of the Networks’ Working Groups, while now chairs the Working Groups on Asylum and Migration and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
“Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All”. The United Nations, by using this slogan on Human Rights Day (10 December) remind us that none of the above is to be taken for granted. The achievement of each of them requires vigilance, daily struggle and systematic effort by citizens and human rights defenders around the world. On 10 December, the GNCHR, will once again join its forces and voice with them to defend the rights to
Dignity, Freedom and Justice for All!!!
