International Human Rights Day

Today marks the 59^th Anniversary of the adoption of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that affirms the inherent rights of people everywhere and enshrines basic freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and belief.

As we join men and women around the globe in observing International Human Rights Day and Week, we recognize the noble work of human rights defenders who risk harassment, beatings, arrest and even death for seeking to secure the rights of their fellow citizens. While we applaud the hard-won gains for human rights and democratic government that have been made in recent decades, we are sobered by the fact that there remain governments that respond to growing demands for personal and democratic rights by oppressing non-governmental organizations and others who peacefully advocate for them.