The Secretary General’s Call to Action for Human Rights (C2A) just turned two. Much progress has been made to translate the vision and core principles of the C2A primarily, the centrality of human rights to the entire UN system into tangible action. 

Without human rights, there can be no sustained peace, no stability, no protection from harm. No equality, no democracy, no space to speak up. No online safety, no end to the digital divide, no hope of an internet that puts people over profit.

Without human rights, there would be no way to curb climate change, eradicate poverty, tackle racism, misogyny, homophobia, or xenophobia. No way to protect the wellbeing and safety of children, young people, the elderly, disabled persons, refugees, or minorities. There can be no green and habitable future planet, no sustainable development, possibly no human future at all. 

Human rights are not only the RIGHT thing to do, it’s the SMART thing to do. It’s central to everything the UN does. It’s key to our collective human future. That’s why Secretary-General António Guterres launched his Call to Action for Human Rights. Today, we celebrate the C2A’s second anniversary. 

Read more about The Secretary General’s Call to Action for Human Rights here.  

Download the document "THE HIGHEST ASPIRATION, A CALL TO ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS", by António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General on the occasion of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations here. 

#StandUpforHumanRights  

Watch a video by UN officials on the second anniversary of this call here: