Georgia Celebrates Human Rights Day 2017

TBILISI.  December 8, 2017 – The European Union (EU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the human rights week to celebrate Human Rights Day 2017 (December 10) and prepare the ground for a wider campaign in 2018 which will mark the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

The campaign opened with the video addresses of Janos Herman, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, and Niels Scott, Head of the United Nations in Georgia. 

“Human rights are at the heart of Georgia’s association with the European Union. We are convinced that the respect for and active defense of human rights will promote all other objectives of our cooperation. It is important for both Georgia and Europe,“ Janos Herman, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, said in his video address. 

Niels Scott, Head of the United Nations in Georgia, stressed that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is as important and relevant today as it was 70 years ago. 

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that every human being, regardless of their religion, nationality or gender, has the same rights. These rights – freedom of expression, access to justice, the right to life and fair trial – are as important today as they were 70 years ago, when the Declaration was first put together,” he said. 

The addresses of Janos Herman and Niels Scott were followed by video's from Georgia’s Goodwill Ambassadors for Sustainable Development Goals – Gela Charkviani, Irma Khetsuriani, Nino Sukhishvili – reading out the first three articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

The celebration of the Human Rights Day 2017 continued with a series of events initiated by the European Union (EU) and UNDP, in cooperation with national partners, including the newly appointed Public Defender of Georgia, Nino Lomjaria. 

The European Union and UNDP are assisting the protection of human rights in Georgia through the 4 million EUR EU-funded programme “Human Rights for All”, which supports and promotes the implementation and monitoring of the National Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan 2014-2020. 

About Human Rights Day: 

Human Rights Day, December 10, is observed worldwide every year to commemorate the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 2017 slogan of Human Rights Day is “Promote, Engage and Reflect”, built upon the stand-up call to action #standup4humanrights