Human Rights Day, held on 10 December, marks the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 63 years ago. The declaration is a founding human rights document, which sets out the international human rights standards that human rights defenders fight to protect.
On Human Rights Day, the International Service for Human Rights celebrates the work and dedication of human rights defenders throughout the world. Visit us on Facebook to find out more about how we marked the occassion in 2011.
On 9 December, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay hosted a discussion about human rights in which she responded to questions sent through social media, as well as questions from attendees.
Programme Director, Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL), South Africa
Fikile Vilakazi has fought discrimination since childhood. Her identity, as a black, lesbian, woman, has led her to be a target of intolerance and prejudice, and driven her to defend the rights of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.
Her earliest experience speaking up against discrimination came as a child, through involvement in the fight against apartheid, and through her refusal to accept the traditional family role as the 'girl child'.
Document and Reporting Officer, ‘Praxis’ Support to Social Development Public Union, Azerbaijan
‘I think all people are equal and that discrimination injures people,’ says Parviz Isgandarov, a human rights defender from Azerbaijan. ‘If a person is treated differently and can’t obtain the things others can obtain, simply because of their identity, I think it’s hard for people to accept that.’
Parviz works for a local social development NGO, Praxis, undertaking research and preparing reports to document and raise awareness of human rights violations in Azerbaijan. The organisation promotes conditions of sustainable human development in which people are able to enjoy a full range of human rights, fulfill their needs free from poverty and live in dignity.
Lawyer and National Coordinator/Spokesperson for the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Monitor
Manja Bayang is an indigenous person belonging to the Kankanaey tribe, and a human rights defender in the Cordillera region of the Philippines. Minority indigenous groups, approximately 10-15 percent of the total population, are some of the hardest hit in the Philippines by discrimination and marginalisation in various forms.
A lawyer by trade, Manja provides legal aid and representation to indigenous peoples in court and the 'parliament of the streets'. She is also the National Coordinator for the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Monitor, a network which monitors and documents human rights violations in the Philippines, and presents these to the Government and international human rights bodies.
Through the prism of over 40 case studies, the Global Report on the Situation of Women Human Rights Defenders explores the connections between the context in which a woman human rights defender works and the nature of the violations she experiences. More...
Fikile Vilakazi
