PROGRAM

To mark the 68th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, the UN will present its annual Human Rights Day event at Roosevelt House on Friday, December 9th, at 1:00pm.

Jan Eliasson, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, will deliver the keynote address.  Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Andrew Gilmour, will launch the UN Human Rights Office’s “Stand up for someone’s rights today – Take action” global campaign. The campaign is a practical effort to amplify the call by the United Nations to people across the world to stand up for rights, including in their everyday life – in the workplace, on the sports field, at school, in the street. 

The program will also feature a performance by the UN Chamber Music Society, and a panel discussion, moderated by Margaret Besheer, the UN correspondent for Voice of America.  Other participants include Cynthia Soohoo, Board President of the US Human Rights Network; Dr. Deqo Waqaf, Chief Executive Officer of the Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation; and Mohammad Al Abdallah, Executive Director of the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre.  

The commemoration takes place at a symbolic location – Roosevelt House, where both Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s career in politics and Eleanor Roosevelt’s first forays into public life began, leading to her lifelong commitment to civil liberties and her later role as a global advocate for human rights, culminating in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We hope you will join us for this special program!