The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a milestone document which proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being - regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Available in over 500 languages, it is the most translated document in the world.

This year’s slogan for Human Rights Day is “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All.”

Human rights have become more recognised and more guaranteed across the world since the adoption of the UDHR. It has since served as the foundation for an expanding system of human rights protection that today focuses also on vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and migrants.

However, the promise of dignity and equality in rights has been under a sustained assault in recent years. As the world faces new and ongoing challenges such as pandemics, conflicts, exploding inequalities, morally bankrupt global financial system, racism, climate change – the values and rights enshrined in the UDHR provide guideposts for collective actions that do not leave anyone behind.

There is a renewed need for a social contract and understanding between governments and their people and within societies, to rebuild trust and embrace a shared and comprehensive vision of human rights on the road to a just and sustainable development.

As Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, recently stated: 

It is absolutely clear that we need to regain the universality of human rights, the indivisibility of human rights, and we need to find a new energy that motivates young people around the world.

Better Internet for Kids and Human Rights Day

Here on the Better Internet for Kids portal, we are fully committed to achieving this goal, and we focus our work on fundamental human rights such as the access to information and the right to be protected, empowered and respected online. This also means that children and young people have the necessary skills and competencies to make informed choices and express themselves in the digital environment safely and responsibly, and to have access to the numerous opportunities the online world has to offer. As pointers, we suggesting checking out the following:

• In the new BIK+ strategy, adopted by the European Commission in May this year, protecting the digital rights of children and young people is one of the three pillars. Together with ensuring safe digital experiences and active participation, digital empowerment is one of the ways to build a better internet for kids. This means that the European Commission will develop and distribute teaching modules (MOOCs) for teachers to educate them about the necessary skills and competencies to find information and strengthen the support of Safer Internet Centres in Member States to provide children in vulnerable situations with non-formal education and training to address the digital divide. Read more about the BIK+ strategy and the Commission’s effort in our article.  
• The resource repository on the BIK portal collects various educational resources provided by Safer Internet Centres (SICs). These resources are designed to help teachers, parents and carers, and children and young people, to be empowered and have the skills to use the internet safely and responsible, and be able to take advantage of the opportunities it offers. 
• While the digital revolution provides many opportunities for child empowerment and participation, it also raises concerns about how they can exercise their rights in the digital environment. Find out more about children and youth’s rights in the digital space in this focus article from the June 2021 BIK bulletin.