December 10 is designated as Human Rights Day - a day to mark the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
The Presbyterian United Nations Office and the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program offer a variety of materials to help plan worship services or other observances of Human Rights Day: worship resources, information about the day and the declaration, and links to UN offices that work to protect human rights.
The Declaration was one of the first major achievements of the United Nations. Its adoption marked the first time in history that a document considered to have universal value was adopted by an international organization. It was also the first time that human rights and fundamental freedoms were set forth in such detail.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights represents a common statement of goals and aspirations — a vision of the world as the international community would want it to become. The Declaration is one of the best known and most often cited human rights documents in the world. Over the years, the Declaration has been used to defend and advance people's rights. Its principles have been enshrined in and continue to inspire national legislation and the constitutions of many nations. References to the Declaration have been made in charters and resolutions of regional intergovernmental organizations as well as in treaties and resolutions adopted by the United Nations.
Human rights have been the focus of many statements by Presbyterian General Assemblies. The 161st General Assembly (1949) voted its support of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, taking a concrete step on a matter about which Assemblies had been advocating for nearly fifteen years. The action marked the beginning of declarations by Assemblies in the area of human rights principles. These policy statements and resolutions have been both general — addressing the rights of all human beings — and specific, addressing the rights of persons in particular situations.
