Human Rights Day 2012 - Feature stories
Many inspirational stories on inclusion and the right to participate in public life throughout this year have been featured on our website and can be found here.
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| The UN Human Rights Office presents its report to the Human Rights Council on the crisis in Mali, amidst allegations of human rights violations committed by the Malian Army. |
| Inspiring women leaders share their personal experience on the enabling factors that have allowed them to assume positions of leadership at the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council. |
| UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay highlights the progress and challenges faced in promoting human rights across Africa at Oxford University. |
| The Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva pauses and observes a minute’s silence for Stéphane Hessel, a man acknowledged as one of the world’s great proponents of human rights. |
| UN Human Rights Chief, Navi Pillay, speaks on addressing inequalities in the future framework for development post-2015, the target date for the UN Millennium Development Goals. |
| The Rabat Plan of Action to combat incitement to hatred, discrimination and violence, which was presented by internationally recognized experts, provides practical tools to States, the UN system, political and religious leaders, the civil society and the |
| One county in Liberia has succeeded in stopping Female Genital Mutilation practices by ensuring girls are not being pulled out of formal studies during the school year to attend ”bush schools". |
| On the 100th anniversary of the birth of civil rights activist, Rosa Parks, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay says her spirit will continue to inspire collective efforts to realize our fundamental rights. |
| On Human Rights Day 2012, United Nations Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay says, “No matter who you are, or where you live, under international law, your voice counts.” |
| The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay supports people campaigning for their right to be included and to participate in the public lives of their communities. |
| Spanish hotel chain, Room Mate Hotels, will place copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its hotel rooms worldwide, starting 10 December 2012. |
| As a former migrant from Romania, Ramona Constantin has finally found her voice in her Manchester community and is working to help other Roma’s become active participants in community life. |
| Several countries across the Middle East and North Africa turn to transitional justice principles to assist in the move away from authoritarianism to more democratic and inclusive systems of governance. |
| Mohamed El Hor Abeidy says through his participation in the UN Human Rights office Minorities Fellowship Programme he expects to learn more about the UN human rights system “which will enable us to defend our rights without violating the rights of others |
| “They are isolated from society,” says Maha Rashed, of her own community—the Al-Akhdam minority group in Yemen. Rashed participated in the UN Human Rights Office Minorities Fellowship Programme in Geneva. |
| Patricia Wattimena works for the Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance in the Archipelago, an independent movement that fights for the protection of indigenous peoples’ land and resources. |
| “The right to language and education for all should be guaranteed,” says Husam Abdullah Ali, a 28-year-old human rights activist who participated in the UN Human Rights office Minorities Fellowship Programme in Geneva. |
| Right to land and protection of culture are key issues for Carwyn Jones, member of a Māori nation in New Zealand and a UN Human Rights Indigenous Fellow. |
| Migrants transiting through Mexico have regained one of their staunchest defenders, Father Alejandro Solalinde, who, after leaving Mexico, has returned safely to the migrant shelter he has run for several years. |
| “Although much progress has been made in realizing women’s rights, we must acknowledge that we still live in a world where women face serious inequalities in all spheres of life—at home, at work, in communities and in politics,”. |
| Every State has an obligation to protect its people against gross violations of human rights, and to address any violations that are committed. |
| “I work at the national level to reduce the gap between the different components of the Saudi Arabian population and to flatten the differences between social groups,” says UN Human Rights Minority Fellow Enam Abuljalil El Asfour. |
| “It is astonishing how often States have violated the right of individuals to assemble peacefully, including by violating their rights to life and to be free from torture, rights which allow no limitation,” says Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai. |
| Journalists should not be intimidated, imprisoned, tortured or killed for telling “inconvenient” truths, notes the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Frank La Rue, in his latest report to the Human Rights Council. |
| States must find a balance between their duty to protect and the responsibility to guarantee freedoms says Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang addressing a conference in the Middle East. |
| On the occasion of Rio+20, the UN Human Rights Office launches a social media campaign inviting people to speak up for human rights in “The Future We Want.” |
| Prakash Mohara plans to use the knowledge and experience he gained from the UN Human Rights office Minorities Fellowship Programme in his campaign to ensure justice and equal rights for members of the Dalit community in his home country of Nepal. |
| UN Human Rights Chief is on a five-day official visit to Zimbabwe where she met with government officials, civil society and other stakeholders – in a bid to understand the human rights situation on the ground. |
| UN teams up with Finnish hip-hop artist Signmark to promote the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. |
| Some of the world’s leading human rights activists, politicians and thinkers gather at the UN in Geneva to reflect on the impact of the global climate, food and financial crisis on women and the role women play in promoting peace and human rights. |
| The UN Human Rights Council holds its first-ever panel discussion on the right to freedom of expression on the Internet. |
| States that have endorsed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities should ease the participation of all persons with disabilities in the political and public life of their countries. |
| “Social networks gave us an opportunity to engage in conversations and to exchange opinions on what was happening,” says Sondos Asem, a human rights activist from Egypt. |
| In Somalia, the UN works to facilitate discussions between the authorities and civil society to ensure respect for human rights is a key feature of the new Constitution. |
| After decades of tribal violence that engulfed the district of Kup, in the mountains of Papua New Guinea, three women mobilised their communities to stop tribal fighting. |
| Jimmie Briggs, an advocate for the rights of women, founded the Man Up campaign to mobilize young people to take action in their own countries to fight violence against women and girls. |
| UN Human Rights chief, Navi Pillay welcomes the vote by the UN General Assembly which gives children the opportunity to challenge violations of their rights at an international level. |
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