U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks on International Human Rights Day in Geneva, Switzerland on December 6, 2011. [Go to http://video.state.gov for more video and text transcript.]

Friday, December 10th is Human Rights Day in commemoration of the United Nations General Assembly adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Since its inception, the UDHR has been a foundational document in international humanitarian law as well as human rights law regionally and in different jurisdictions throughout the world.

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December — the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a milestone document, which proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being - regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Available in more than 500 languages, it is the most translated document in the world.

"The U.N. human rights chief on Tuesday welcomed a pledge by U.S. President Joe Biden to work towards abolishing the death penalty in the United States."