Human Rights Day

  • Published on 10/12/2007
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Today on Monday 10 December we celebrate Human Rights Day.

This date commemorates the United Nations General Assembly's adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

At a time when millions of Amnesty International Australia supporters around the world are writing letters of support, hope, inspiration and expressing their opinions about human rights - it is an especially pertinent time to think of those who are not permitted to freely express their opinions.

Looking specifically to China as the world's attention turns to Beijing in the lead up to the 2008 Olympic Games today there are at least 30 and 50 internet users imprisoned in China for peacefully expressing their opinions in writing.

Chinese authorities limit the content of news articles, the locations journalists can visit, what people can blog about and which images they can upload to the internet. Foreign media is censored despite some improvement to regulations introduced in January 2007 leading up to the Games. Domestic journalists face harsh limitations, prospect of having print publications shut down, being subject to surveillance and the risk of imprisonment.

Take the human rights pledge for China

Fact sheet on internet censorship

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