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“Celebrate Human Rights” Press conference with Navi Pillay, UN Human Rights Chief, on the 2011 Human Rights Day campaign

1 December 2011

GENEVA – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay will today host a press conference in Geneva to introduce the Human Rights Day campaign for 2011 – a celebration of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“2011 has been an extraordinary year for human rights,” Pillay said. “This year millions of people decided the time had come to claim their rights. They took to the streets and squares, to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and demanded change.”

“This year, in the lead up to 10 December, the day that the international community of states adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 63 years ago, we will celebrate this global human rights movement.”

The press conference will be held at 15h00 Geneva time in Press Room III at the Palais de Nations in Geneva. It will also be webcast live at http://www.un.org/webcast.

With the High Commissioner at the press conference will be Tony Wright, Chairman of Lowe and Partners, a global advertising agency that provided the creative concept and helped develop the elements of the social media campaign that will be revealed today.

Follow the live tweet of the High Commissioner’s press conference: #CelebrateRights at http://twitter.com/UNrightswire

For more information on the Human Rights Day campaign: http://ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Day2011/Pages/HRD2011.aspx

ENDS

Learn more about the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/HighCommissioner.aspx

For more information or media enquiries please contact:

In Geneva: UN Human Rights spokesperson Rupert Colville (+ 41 22 917 9767 or rcolville@ohchr.org) or press officers: Ravina Shamdasani (+ 41 22 917 9310 or rshamdasani@ohchr.org) or Xabier Celaya (+ 41 22 917 9383 or xcelaya@ohchr.org)

In New York: Fred Kirungi (+1-917-367-3431 or kirungi@un.org)