60 Years of Human Rights

A rectangle engraved with the number 60. Wavy lines radiate outward from the rectangle, partly wrapping around it. Above the rectangle is the year 2008, and below it the inscription „UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS". Along the bottom edge of the coin's inner field, the issuing country's name appears in the three national languages – „BELGIË – BELGIQUE – BELGIEN" – arranged in a semicircle, flanked by the mint mark and the engraver's mark.

Finland (FI-08 G1), Italy (IT-08 G1), and Portugal (PT-08 G1) issued a €2 commemorative coin for the same occasion.

On 10 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly in Paris adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — a document created as a direct response to the atrocities of the Second World War. Its 30 articles set out universal rights belonging to every person regardless of origin, sex or nationality: the right to life and liberty, to a fair trial, to freedom of thought and opinion. Although the Declaration is not legally binding under international law, it has shaped generations of constitutions, international treaties and human rights organisations. Belgium was among the founding members of the United Nations in 1948 and supported the Declaration from the outset — as a parliamentary democracy that had itself endured harsh occupation experiences in the 20th century, its commitment to universal fundamental rights was no mere formality.

Sixty years after its adoption, the Declaration remains the most translated document in the world, available in more than 500 languages. At the same time, its implementation worldwide remains incomplete — Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and similar organisations document systematic violations in dozens of countries every year. In Belgium itself, the Declaration holds a firm place in jurisprudence and education policy; human rights education is part of the curriculum in schools across all three language communities. To mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Belgium issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2008, honouring this founding document of modern international law.