Human rights are more than a legal obligation – they affect our daily lives, our sense of security, and our ability to live with dignity. As we celebrate International Human Rights Day, we are reminded how important it is to protect these rights, especially in this era of challenges and opportunities for positive change.
On 10 December, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 77 years ago, we commemorate the most important moment in defining human rights. The declaration affirmed the inalienable civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of all people, without exception.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights laid the foundations for modern understanding and protection of human rights worldwide. It contains 30 articles guaranteeing fundamental rights and is the most translated document in the world, available in over 500 languages.
This year’s theme is “Human Rights, Are Our Everyday Responsibility”, highlighting that human rights are inextricable from of daily life.
The role of the business sector
Companies today have a significant impact on people’s daily lives, from working conditions they offer to the way they manage resources. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the global state of workers’ rights is concerning: in many countries, workers lack access to fair arbitration, collective bargaining, justice, or the ability to organize.
There were some important developments in 2025 in this context. At the annual ILO conference in Geneva, participants supported the development of international, binding standards to protect workers in the platform economy, in an important step toward recognizing and safeguarding workers’ rights globally.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, human rights in business have not yet received sufficient attention. However, projects such as Improving Human Rights Corporate Accountability in BiH are making meaningful progress. Through this European Union–funded project, the Institute for Youth Development KULT works to raise awareness, provide education, and offer support to ensure that human rights become a fact of life for everyone.
The goal is to promote inclusion and respect for diversity, and to empower citizens to participate in building a fairer society, because human rights are a shared responsibility – today and every other day.
The project “Improving Human Rights Corporate Accountability in BiH” is funded by the European Union in BiH and implemented by the Institute for Youth Development KULT, in partnership with the Commerce Trade and Services Trade Union of BiH and the Association “Dajte nam šansu.”
