International Human Rights Day: opening remarks

Dear colleagues, last Friday, December 10, we celebrated International Human Rights Day and, with it, our fundamental freedoms and all those who work tirelessly to promote and protect those rights.

For 2021, the United Nations (UN) dedicated the observance of this date to equality, the equality enshrined in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, under which all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

Equality and non-discrimination are the essence of human rights. In line with this premise, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), in resolution AG/RES. 2961 (L-O/20), "Promotion and Protection of Human Rights," adopted only a few weeks ago, expressly reaffirmed the unrestricted commitment of the American states to reduce inequality and eliminate discrimination in our region, above all for those who live in poverty, for children and adolescents, older adults, persons with disabilities, people of African descent, Indigenous Peoples, migrants and refugees, LGBTI persons, women and girls and other groups in situations of vulnerability, who are the ones who suffer most from harm, discrimination, exclusion and inequality, not only in our Hemisphere but throughout the world.

These decisions of the General Assembly are aligned with the call of the United Nations to the entire international community to build better, fairer and more sustainable societies for present and future generations.

Dear colleagues, may this celebration serve so that, together, and as the Organization that promotes and defends human rights, we may reaffirm the commitment of all the countries represented here to reduce inequality and eliminate discrimination in the Americas.