The UN General Assembly proclaimed 10 December as Human Rights Day in 1950, to bring to the attention ‘of the peoples of the world’ the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.
Today, Village Earth honors International Human Rights Day with a reaffirmation of our commitment to the defense and protection of the rights endowed in Humans and all living creators. A human rights-based approach is at the core of what we do. This means doing more than making an bad situation a little better or helping people do more with less. Instead, it means engaging with community in a dialogue about the root causes of poverty and oppression and working side-by-side to transform them. Furthermore, this approach, this philosophy, recognizes the importance of local leaders and their organizations as the primary actors in change, rather than outside NGOs, academics, or experts. We believe a human rights-based approach must also consider justice, the intergenerational impacts of oppression (both material and psychological), and the necessity for governments, corporations and individuals to adequately and respectfully remedy past wrongs. Read more about Village Earth’s Approach.
