Our videos. Our people and partners talk about our work towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Human rights are deeply woven into our daily lives. Our rights are so essential to us that we may only notice them when they are taken away.They are about children having a good breakfast before they go to school, and a woman feeling safe walking home at night.They are about social support for an elderly man who has fallen sick.And about a student with a disability being treated fairly when applying for a job.They are about an LGBTIQ+ rights activist who can meet with people who advocate for respect and dignity.And they are about justice for prisoners who have been tortured in a war zone. Human rights empower people to overcome subjugation and oppression.Regardless of who we are, where we live, or what we do, we all want the same things: safety, dignity, and freedom.Many of today’s social movements are driven by these values. Young people in particular are determined to dismantle every brick in the wall of injustice. In this, they are writing the latest chapter of the struggle for freedom, equality, and dignity that began centuries ago. That struggle against colonialism, racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination laid the foundation of international human rights.After the horrors of two world wars, the Holocaust, and global economic collapse, these principles were set out in the Universal Declaration that we mark today.Our rights connect us all. Like water nourishing the roots of a tree, they are essential for our common humanity.Because when one root is denied water, the whole tree suffers.Pushback against human rights in one part of the world, or against one group of people, harms us all. Our lives are profoundly intertwined.Some of the poorest countries in the world are sinking into the ocean because of sky high carbon emissions in developed economies. Your mobile phone battery could depend on a child working in a cobalt mine.We all need to protect the human rights of all, mobilizing and inspiring each other, from the courts to the streets to the ballot box.Because human rights also offer solutions. They are our compass in turbulent times — guiding and steadying us through uncertainty.Each of you has the power to drive change.In your schools, workplaces, and on social media:  call out injustice and stand up for free, open, and civil discourse.And call on your leaders to respect all human rights, for everyone. On Human Rights Day and every day, let us stand up for what is essential to us all.