Common menu bar
Supplemental content
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
60th anniversary
December 10, 2008 marks Human Rights Day and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Canada celebrated this a major achievement in building the foundation for global peace, democracy and freedom. We acknowledge the progress made in improving human rights in Canada and abroad, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.
Events
To mark this anniversary, Minister Cannon delivered a speech at the Ottawa headquarters of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) and inaugurated an art exhibit by children from over 20 countries entitled “Children Have Rights”.
Children’s art exhibit
This joint exhibit between DFAIT and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was facilitated by our embassies abroad that invited children from host communities to engage in discussions about human rights, using the Declaration and the Convention on the Rights of the Child as learning tools. The children who participated in this project were asked to use art to express conceptions of human rights.
As well, grade 6 students from Wakefield Elementary School were invited to participate in a workshop on human rights and share their thoughts on the art exhibit.
The Greatest Silence
The department also presented a screening of The Greatest Silence, a poignant documentary on sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo followed by a panel discussion.
See also:
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations)
- The Effectiveness, the Challenges, as well as the Future of Human Rights - video interview with Yakin Ertürk, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its Future - video interview with Soyata Maïga, Special Rapporteur for the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
