Celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 75th Anniversary

Established in the aftermath of the horrors of the Second World War, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights represents an unprecedented affirmation of human dignity and of the preciousness of each and every human life. This value is enshrined in rights to be protected, everywhere, universally, by governments and others exercising political authority over the citizenry. Limited to a declaration – and so not a legally binding document – the UDHR has nonetheless inspired and catalyzed over 70 human rights treaties that have served to renovate laws and craft a culture of respect, and human decency, in countless parts of the world. This event marks the 75th anniversary of the Declaration and is at once a celebration of human rights and an opportunity to connect with the pressing challenges to the full enjoyment of those rights today.

Hosted by the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies, the Alvin Sherman Library, and the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, the event is intentionally crosscutting – to reflect the declaration’s ethos of universality, given form at this celebration through interdisciplinarity and inclusion. The event comprises presentations and workshops on issues of global and local concern with participation from faculty in the Shepard Broad School of Law and Halmos College’s Department of Humanities and Politics as well as by faculty, alumni and students of the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies.