Human Rights Day is observed by the international community every year on 10 December. It commemorates the day in 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The formal inception of Human Rights Day dates from 1950, after the Assembly passed resolution 423 (V) inviting all States and interested organizations to adopt 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.

When the General Assembly adopted the Declaration, with 48 states in favor and eight abstentions, it was proclaimed as a "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations", towards which individuals and societies should "strive by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance". Although the Declaration with its broad range of political, civil, social, cultural and economic rights is not a binding document, it inspired more than 60 human rights instruments which together constitute an international standard of human rights. Today the general consent of all United Nations Member States on the basic Human Rights laid down in the Declaration makes it even stronger and emphasizes the relevance of Human Rights in our daily lives.

CFUW believes that education is a right as asserted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN - 1948) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UN - 1966). We seek to strengthen equitable access to education on a national and global level by advocating for the removal of social, economic, and political barriers to education for all people. Over the years our advocacy efforts have focused on a wide range of educational concerns, such as: early learning and childcare, first nations education, gender balanced curricula, civic education, post-secondary education, English/French as a Second Language services, resources and supports for students with disabilities.