2011 has been a landmark year for human rights activism. Thousands of people took to the streets in Egypt, Tunisia, and across the globe demanding change.
In the Middle East and North Africa citizens asked for justice, dignity, equality and participation, often in the face of violence and further repression. For many people, the struggle continues but for others, this year has brought with it the first steps towards a fairer society.
On Human Rights Day – celebrated each year on 10 December, the day on which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948 – UNA-UK is paying tribute to ordinary people who have become human rights defenders, whether they are based in the UK, Egypt or elsewhere, campaigning for people in their own communities or those in faraway countries.
UNA-UK’s Executive Director, Phil Mulligan, said “policy-makers in the UK and internationally need to take note of the brave commitment shown by human rights activists around the world in the last year. The challenge for the global community is to support the fulfilment of rights in the darker corners of the world where it is often uncomfortable and difficult to tread.”
