In honour of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the famous statue Manneken Pis was dressed in a new costume during an official ceremony on Saturday. This collaboration between the city of Brussels and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) resulted in a symbolic event.
The statue, which stands in the centre of Brussels, donned a miniature version of the blue uniform worn by UN representatives when active in conflict zones.
"Today, these rights may seem obvious to us, but that is not the case everywhere. That's why it's essential to emphasise the importance of the declaration," said city councillor Geoffrey Coomans de Brachène (MR).
"The text, which was renewed at the time, proved to be a truly symbolic compass, guiding states towards progress and social justice," said the regional representative of the OHCHR, Elena Kountouri Tapiero, who was present at the ceremony. However, she emphasised that "respect for fundamental rights and human dignity remains an ongoing struggle."
International Human Rights Day on Sunday marks 75 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was established. It was on 10 December 1948 that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the declaration.
The United Nations thereby recognised not only civil and political rights but also economic and social rights as fundamental rights that should be universally protected and applicable to all people. This recognition represented a commitment to building a better world after the horror of World War II, the Holocaust, the economic crisis and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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