Thursday, December 10, 2009

Happy International Human Rights Day AND Morgan Freeman


You should know by now that I have some severely left-leaning tendencies. So, of course I would have to remind you that today is International Human Rights Day!! Yay! For those who haven't heard of this day, I've included a quick blurb below...but, it's more or less the Superbowl for part-time activists like myself:-)

If you're looking for a way to celebrate this 61st birthday of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, you should check out the new Clint Eastwood film Invictus. The biographical film on the life of Nelson Mandela is set to hit theatres tomorrow and stars the oh-so-bad-ass Morgan Freeman as Mr. Mandela. According to IMDB, the film is a "look at life for Nelson Mandela after the fall of apartheid in South Africa during his first term as president when campaigned to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event as an opportunity to unite his countrymen."

Check out the Invictus trailer below and remember...human rights are not just the responsibility of the UN and organizations like Amnesty International. We must all work to uphold the rights of each individual and speak out for those who cannot.




What's IHR Day?
from the United Nations

The promotion and protection of human rights has been a major preoccupation for the United Nations since 1945, when the Organization's founding nations resolved that the horrors of The Second World War should never be allowed to recur.

Respect for human rights and human dignity "is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world", the General Assembly declared three years later in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, all States and interested organizations were invited by the General Assembly to observe 10 December as Human Rights Day (resolution 423(V)).

The Day marks the anniversary of the Assembly's adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Over the years, a whole network of human rights instruments and mechanisms has been developed to ensure the p
rimacy of human rights and to confront human rights violations wherever they occur.

1 comment:

  1. aww i'm sad i'm a few days behind! thanks for the heads up though :)

    ReplyDelete