December 10, 2008 – Today we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The adoption of this Declaration on December 10, 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly marked an extremely significant milestone in the global development of fundamental rights – including privacy.
The Declaration was a reaction to the horrific events of the Second World War. Principally authored by a Canadian, John Peters Humphrey, the Declaration outlines 30 basic rights touching on equality, economic, social and cultural matters.
It was the first international statement to include a reference to the right of privacy:
The Declaration has been reflected in a rich body of human rights instruments and treaties, both internationally and domestically.
In fact, it's fair to call the Declaration the "grandmother" of Canada's own Privacy Act.
This is because the Declaration provided a foundation for the passage of the Canadian Human Rights Act, which inspires a vision for Canada in which "all individuals should have an opportunity equal with other individuals to make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have".
Part IV of the Canadian Human Rights Act contained Canada's first privacy legislation at the federal level. Canada's first Privacy Commissioner, Inger Hansen, was appointed in 1977. Five years later, in 1982, Parliament passed Canada's first informational privacy legislation – the Privacy Act.
Today is a good day to remind ourselves of the roots of our current privacy legislation. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has had a profound impact in Canada and around the world, and continues to guide the work that my Office does today.
While it is clear that people around the world must continue to fight for the rights expressed in the Declaration, we should also take this opportunity to celebrate how much we've achieved and how far we've come in the last 60 years.
For more -information about the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, please visit the Canadian Human Rights Commission Web site.
Jennifer Stoddart
Privacy Commissioner of Canada
