UNITED STATES MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS

OFFICE OF PRESS AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 10, 2019

On this day seventy-one years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recognizing the inherent dignity of all individuals. Today the United States reaffirms its commitment to upholding the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Declaration and reflected in our nation’s founding.

Unfortunately, there remain many places in the world where these rights and freedoms are a distant dream. That is the case in places like China, where the Chinese Communist Party has arbitrarily detained more than one million Uighurs and members of other Muslim minority groups since April 2017, as well as persecuted Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, and other people of faith.

It is true in Iran, where security forces have killed hundreds of protesters, tortured dissidents, and jailed innocent citizens. In Venezuela, the illegitimate Maduro regime continues to subvert the Venezuelan people’s right to self-determination. And in Syria, where the Assad regime, supported by its Russian and Iranian allies, continues to inflict terrible harm on the Syrian people.

The drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights made clear that human rights are universal rights, guaranteed to all people, at all times. Until that goal is fully realized, the United States will continue to serve as a beacon to those yearning for freedom.

###