Volker Türk in Haiti, at a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Seventy-five years ago, a powerful, simple text was adopted by consensus – a text that held the promise of greater human dignity, equality and justice.

It is a document that Haiti played a key role in.

Ambassador Emile Saint Lot, the first Haitian Ambassador to the UN, was the Rapporteur of the Third Commission that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It is reported that he presented the final draft of the UDHR to the General Assembly, at a late-night session in Paris on 9 December 1948.

The draft resolution on human rights, he was quoted as saying, was “the greatest effort yet made by mankind to give society new legal and moral foundations.”

Across cultures, religions and national borders, the world united behind this text. Emerging from a period of grave, intolerable violence and despair, they knew that the future needed to be grounded in fundamental human rights.

Human rights defenders – within structures of power and outside – breathe life into the provisions of this miraculous text every day.

I want to pay tribute to the Haitian human rights defenders and civil society actors I’ve just met and many more that I will not have the privilege to meet during my short visit. In these most difficult circumstances, they are ensuring that the most vulnerable members of their communities are not forgotten and that they have someone to speak for them, to assist them in their hour of need.

I strongly encourage the State – and all those who hold power – to empower and listen to these voices and to the voices of young people, to seek their wisdom on solutions that will bring Haitians out of these multiple crises, to forge a more hopeful, just, peaceful and prosperous vision of their country and work together towards it.

Haiti has a long, awe-inspiring history of attachment to human rights, dignity and freedoms and a powerful tradition of resistance and resilience in the face of colossal obstacles. This spirit was most famously captured by Toussaint Louverture when he said:

"By overthrowing me, you have only defeated the trunk of the tree of freedom; it will grow back because its roots are deep, numerous, and vivacious."

We see this spirit today in human rights movements around the world and I hope this 75th anniversary year of the UDHR will serve to remind the world just how strong and deep-rooted human rights values are, for everyone, everywhere.