10 things you need to know about Human Rights Day

Disrespect for basic human rights continues to be widespread across all parts of the globe, here are 10 things you need to know about Human Rights Day.

Human Rights Day is marked annually on 10th December to commemorate the day in 1948 when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A milestone document in the history of human rights, it set out, for the first time, how fundamental human rights were to be universally protected.

300,000: Estimates suggest there are as many as 300,000 child soldiers around the world. Both boys and girls serve in government forces and armed opposition groups, fighting on the front lines, acting as spies or guards, participating in suicide missions or being forced into sexual slavery.

370: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the most translated document in the world. It is available in 370 languages.

21m: Nearly 21 million people around the world are the victims of forced labour, and the majority are women. According to the International Labour Organisation, the illegal human trafficking industry is worth around $150bn (£120bn).

200m: It is estimated that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation, with an estimated three million girls at risk of undergoing FGM. 

5: Nepal is one of around five countries where your gender can now appear as "other" on official documentation.

4: In 2015 alone, the death penalty has been abolished in four countries.

3m: More than three million under-fives die every year from environment-related diseases, with many more affected by environmental issues such as water and air pollution.

30: According to UN Women, more than 30 countries worldwide exempt rape perpetrators from prosecution when they are married to the victim – or if they subsequently marry them. Around the world, a third of women have experienced either sexual or physical violence – mostly at the hands of an intimate partner.

2015: Last year, the number of  transgender homicide victimshit a historic high, and almost all of the victims were transgender women of colour.

15m: Globally, 15 million girls will never have the opportunity to learn to read and write in primary school. Around two-thirds of the world's illiterate people are women.

To find out more about Human Rights Day 2016, please click here.

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