20 Days to Commemorate Human Rights

Any day is a good day to defend fundamental freedoms! But here are 20 anniversaries you can use to promote human rights.

January 16 – Religious Freedom Day

January 27 – Holocaust Victims Day

February 6 – International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

February 12 – Red Hand Day (to stop the use of child soldiers)

February 20 – World Day of Social Justice

March 24 – International Day for the Right to the Truth and for the Dignity of Victims

April 4 – International Day for Land Mine Awareness, Assistance, and Action

April 7 – International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda

May 3 – World Press Freedom Day

May 29 – UN Peacekeepers Day

June 12 – World Day Against Child Labor

June 19 – International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict

June 20 – World Refugee Day

June 26 – International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

July 30 – World Day against Trafficking in Persons

August 23 – International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition

August 30 – International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances

November 25 – International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

December 2 – Global Abolition of Slavery Day

December 9 – Genocide Prevention Day

Dec. 10 – Human Rights Day (Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

You can also use national anniversaries or constitution days of countries you are focused on, as a peg for your floor speech, letter, or other action.