About the United Nations Supported Project - Photography 4 Humanity
Photography 4 Humanity calls on photographers around the world to bring to life the power of human rights. With compelling images that illustrate courage, despair, hope, injustice, hate, compassion, and human rights victories and failures, large and small, this project aims to inspire people to get involved and take a stand for human rights.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is the leading 缅北禁地entity on human rights with a unique mandate to promote and protect all human rights for all people. Under the leadership of the High Commissioner, with a staff of 1,300 working in more than 70 countries, it aims to make human rights a reality in the lives of people everywhere.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.
Human Rights are Universal
The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of international human rights law. This principle, as first emphasized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has been reiterated in numerous international human rights conventions, declarations, and resolutions. The 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights noted that "All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated."
The United Nations and Human Rights
The promotion and protection of human rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social - is a key purpose and guiding principle of the United Nations, which have created a comprehensive body of human rights law and established mechanisms to promote and protect these rights and to assist states in carrying out their responsibilities.
"The first words of the Charter -- “we the peoples” – are a summons to place people at the centre of our work. These rights are not a favour to be rewarded or withheld. They are an endowment for simply being human...every measure to uphold human rights helps deliver sustainable development and peace" -
- António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and has been translated into over 500 languages.
2021 Eminent Judges
- Kristen Ashbrun - Photographer
- Elisabeth Bondi - Photography Editor
- Robert Clark - Photographer
- Amanda Hajjar - Director of Exhibitions, Fotografiska NYC
- Michael Itkoff - Co-founder, Daylight Books
- Graham Nash - Musician, Photographer
- Robert Pledge - Photographer, Founder Contact Press Images
- David Rose - President, Photography 4 Humanity
- Jashim Salam - Photographer
- Laurent Sauveur - Chief of External Relations, UNHR
Photography 4 Humanity is an international initiative that calls on photographers around the world to bring to life the power of human rights through their images. Highlighting the most compelling human rights imagery - illustrating courage, despair, hope, injustice, compassion in ways small and large, the images serve to inspire people to personally get involved and take a stand for human rights.
At the core of the Photography 4 Humanity initiative is a global call to action for amateur and professional photographers alike, to submit images for an annual competition where the top finalists each year have their photographs exhibited at the United Nations.
The exhibit is developed to highlight the top finalists of the Photography 4 Humanity Global Prize Competition and to inspire photographers to document the power of human rights around the world. It is created and organized by David Clark Cause (DCC) in collaboration and support of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Fotografiska New York.