Human Rights Day commemorates the day the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR is one of UN’s major achievements as well as the first enunciation of human rights across the world.

This year we mark the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and we celebrate the leadership role of children and youth in collective movements to promote and protect human rights.  We continue to work for a world where justice and human rights support the dignity of all people.

Click here - NGO Prayer Network for December 2019.

Prayer prepared by Sr. Taskila Nicholas, Province of Central East India-Nepal 

Extract from this prayer:

We gather this day because we know that the human rights of millions of people on our planet are denied every day. This denial of human rights results in acute poverty, abuse, violence and despair. We gather together to reflect on this reality and to be in solidarity with those who suffer. We gather so that we may move forward with hearts and minds focused on our work to bring justice for all.

We come together this day to celebrate our human rights in a spirit of hope, because we believe that hearts joined together for the cause of justice can make a difference in our world.

Advent is a time of waiting and preparation, of vigilance and journey, of hope and conversion, of joy and newness.  On the horizon is our God who comes to us in the image of a child, inviting us to a place of promise and newness.  During this Advent Season, we are invited to renew our hearts as we prepare to receive Jesus Christ as Lord of all.

These Advent Reflections connect each day of Advent with an aspect of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 'Ensure sustainable sonsumption and production patterns.' We are  challenged to live in a spirit of global awareness.

We are invited to share this journey in a spirit of openness and trust.

Click here - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9aXRylb1wOndGM3SlhFWHJ1V0JrVDVJa0NVMFJWR3pGdG9R/view

Acknowledgment of material from colleagues and partners, the Claretian United Nations Office. 

The Parliament of the World’s Religions announces the launch of the Climate Commitments Project. This web-based resource is the virtual face of the Climate Commitments Project, which is the effort of the Parliament to coordinate and strengthen interfaith and faith-based climate action campaigns. 

Religious and spiritual leaders from every corner of the globe have confirmed their dedication to the Earth as our planetary home and pledged to address climate change as the greatest threat to our future. 

The web hub provides some of the tools to do that. Please join us and help build a global interfaith climate action movement.

This groundbreaking tool invites participants to Explore, Collaborate, Assess, and Celebrate with colleagues and peers in the global faith-based climate action community.

Today we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This milestone document proclaims the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently 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. It is the most translated document in the world, available in more than 500 languages.

While its promise is yet to be fully realized, the very fact that it has stood the test of time is testament to the enduring universality of its perennial values of equality, justice and human dignity.

The principles enshrined in the Declaration are as relevant today as they were in 1948. We need to stand up for our own rights and those of others. We can take action in our own daily lives, to uphold the rights that protect us all and thereby promote the kinship of all human beings.  

#StandUp4HumanRights

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights empowers us all.

• Human rights are relevant to all of us, every day.

• Our shared humanity is rooted in these universal values.

• Equality, justice and freedom prevent violence and sustain peace.

• Whenever and wherever humanity's values are abandoned, we all are at greater risk.

• We need to stand up for our rights and those of others.

Some other key dates to save in your calendars

February 20 - World Day of Social Justice

March 8 - International Women's Day (IWD)

March 22 - World Water Day

April 22 - International Mother Earth Day

April 24 - Feastday of St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

May 26 - June 24 - Ramadan (varies)

June 5 - World Environment Day

June 14 - 20 - Refugee Week

June 20 - World Refugee Day

June 24 - Good Shepherd Day (Australia)

July 22 - Good Shepherd Day (Aotearoa/New Zealand) 

July 30 - World Day against Trafficking in Persons

August 9 - International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

August 19 - Feastday of St John Eudes

September 1 - World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation

September 21 - International Day of Peace

October 6 - World Habitat Day

October 11 - International Day of the Girl Child

October 16 - World Food Day

October 17 - International Day for the Elimination of Poverty

November 2 - All Souls Day

November 11 - Diwali festival

November 18 - World Day of the Poor

November 25 - International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

November 25 - 10 Dec - 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence

December 2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

December 5 - International Volunteer Day

December 10 - Human Rights Day