Egypt asserted on Thursday that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is the cornerstone for dealing with the current challenges besetting the world.

In a press release on the occasion of the Human Rights Day, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the UDHR led Egypt to defend peoples' rights to win back their freedom and security as well as to guarantee rights and freedoms for all peoples without any discrimination.

Egypt also called for supporting rights and freedoms and achieving stability for all peoples as well as confronting intolerance and conflicts and preserving justice and peace norms.

The statement also underlined Egypt's role in drafting the UDHR in 1948 which aimed to confront colonization and slavery as well as stressing Africa, Arab, Muslim and developing countries' right in gaining their freedom and dignity.

Egypt will continue, via its membership in international and regional institutions including UN Security Council, to contribute to supporting human rights at the international level.

Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on December 10 of every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights and one of the first major achievements of the new United Nations.

Sources: MENA