Every year on 10 December, Human Rights Day is observed, the day the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. While the 75th anniversary of the UDHR will be celebrated in 2023, its promises have been under a sustained assault in recent years.
Although human rights constitute one of the three pillars of the UN, along with development, and peace and security, only 7% of the regular UN budget is allocated to human rights and only around 3% to the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), the leading UN entity on human rights.
Hence, OHCHR relies heavily on voluntary contributions by Member States and other donors which make up almost two thirds of OHCHR’s income.
Out of the 211 Mio. USD received in 2022, the European Commission (30 Mio.), Sweden (28,8), the USA (27,8), Norway (19), Netherlands (15), Germany (12,6) and Switzerland (19) alone gave around 62%.
