December 10, International Human Rights Day, marks the 73rd anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly. This year’s theme is ‘All Human, All Equal’.

Flanders puts human rights at the centre of its foreign policy. This manifests concretely in our financial support to various human rights organisations in amongst others, Belarus, Latvia and Egypt, to support their work on the rule of law, good governance, legal aid, LGBTIQ issues and women’s rights. In South Africa, Flanders has been supporting the Advanced Human Rights Courses organised by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. In fact, 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of our cooperation! This year, we were furthermore proud to support the 2021 African Human Rights Moot Court Competition, held at the University of Stellenbosch, which brought together human rights students from across the entire African continent.

Click here to read more about concrete initiatives supported in recent years.

In addition to financial support, Flanders makes use of its participation in European and multilateral fora to raise awareness around the importance of human rights in international contacts. Flanders recognises that the UN's human rights mechanisms are strong tools to work towards the global improvement of human rights. Consequently, Flanders also contributes constructively to UN reports and dialogues. In 2021 we gave input on the Committee against the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee against Torture and the Universal Periodic Evaluation for the Human Rights Council.

Let’s stand up for human rights together!