In 1950 the UN General Assembly invited all states and interested organizations to mark December 10 as the Human Rights Day. On this day in 1948 the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. When establishing the day, the UN Secretary General said: “Human rights education is much more than a lesson in schools or a theme for a day; it is a process to equip people with the tools they need to live lives of security and dignity. On this International Human Rights Day, let us continue to work together to develop and nurture in future generations a culture of human rights, to promote freedom, security and peace in all nations”. All populations have always had moral and legal codes to protect human dignity restricting state interference into private lives of its citizens. However, usually the relationship between the state and individual has been objectively unequal.  In the first half of the 20^th century this gave birth to totalitarian regimes leading to the most disastrous world war. Establishing a uniform international system of human rights protection became the priority task of the United Nations Organization created right after the world war. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the cornerstone of that system.  Statistic shows that in recent years the number of applications received by human rights NGOs has slightly decreased, but it is too early to celebrate. It must be taken into account that the population is gradually losing trust in   the law enforcement system and fairness of trials. Another common problem is the reluctance of individuals whose legal claims have been rejected to take active steps to defend their legal interests – to give publicity to the violation, lodge applications, go to court. The Human rights Day is just another reminder that the human-being is the top value on the Earth. The Committee Against Torture congratulates everyone whose life is devoted to human rights protection on this day.