Today is the International Day for Human Rights, which is an occasion to celebrate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Declaration was adopted in the shadow of World War 2. The Nazis had given a new meaning to war. Pictures of concentration camp survivors shocked the world. Global leaders were determined to never let anything like this ever happen again. Thus the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948 – and later that year, so was the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Meanwhile in Canada, our government was forced to look at its own actions and realize that it couldn’t take the moral high ground on the global stage while attempting to eliminate a culture at home. At the time, Canada was still banning certain cultural or religious practices of First Nations people, such as powwows and potlatches. Shortly after signing the Declaration, Canada revised the Indian Act to remove many of its most oppressive laws.
To find out more about this year’s theme and what you can do to make your voice count, go to the United Nations’ website.