Human Rights Week

Human Rights Week has been an annual event at Emory University since 2001. The week is designed to bring students and faculty of the university together with members of the broader Atlanta community, while informing and inspiring action.

This year we will be celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This year the following ten themes will be presented:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Celebrating 60 Years

Civil and Political Rights: Legacy of the US Civil Rights Movement

International Justice and the Right to Asylum

Right to Life/Freedom from Torture: Death Penalty Abolition and the U.S. Justice System

Women’s Rights: Eliminating Discrimination against Women

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Rights

Right to Health: Social Inequalities in U.S. Healthcare

Environmental Justice: Vulnerability, Consumer Choices, and Sustainability

Right to Adequate Standard of Living: Poverty and Homelessness

Business and Human Rights: Labor, Corporations, and Globalization

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is equally relevant in today’s world as it was the day it was signed. Human rights are referenced most prevalently in situations of mass violation, as witnessed in the repetition of genocide in Cambodia, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Sudan. However, human rights also play a significant role in crafting solutions to complex issues such as alleviating poverty, protecting refugees and displaced people, eliminating violence against women, and ensuring peaceful transitions to democracy. Despite the legacy and growing momentum of the human rights movement worldwide, the majority of individuals in the United States remain tragically uninformed of its history and unaware of the importance of securing human rights in public and foreign policy. In 1997, Human Rights USA conducted a national survey on the knowledge level and attitudes of people in the USA on human rights. The results showed that only 8% of adults and 4% of young people are aware of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Human Rights Week 2008 is already shaping up to be an unprecedented success that will engage students, faculty, alumni and the Atlanta community at large. We hope you’ll join us to help make this happen!