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- December 10, 2025
International Human Rights Day 2025
Theme: “Human Rights: Our Everyday Essential”
Issued by DigiCivic Initiative
Date: 10 December 2025
DigiCivic Initiative joins the global community today to commemorate International Human Rights Day, marked under the theme “Human Rights: Our Everyday Essential.” This year’s theme reaffirms a universal truth: human rights are not abstract ideals reserved for special occasions they are the foundation of dignity, autonomy, and justice in our everyday lives.
As society becomes increasingly digital, the full spectrum of fundamental rights privacy, freedom of expression, freedom of association, access to information, and protection from digital harms must be guaranteed both offline and online. The digital environment is now a core part of everyday human experience, shaping how people work, learn, communicate, organise, and participate in governance. It is therefore essential that human rights protections evolve to meet the realities of this digital era.
At DigiCivic Initiative, we emphasise that:
- The Right to Privacy is Essential in the Digital Age: Every individual must be protected from unlawful surveillance, intrusive data practices, abusive profiling, identity theft, and the misuse of personal information. Data protection is not only a regulatory requirement it is a human rights obligation. We therefore call for stronger enforcement of Nigeria’s data protection framework and greater accountability from public and private sector actors handling citizens’ data.
- The Right to Freedom of Expression Must Remain Protected Online: Digital platforms have become the modern public square. Journalists, activists, bloggers, creators, and ordinary citizens must be free to share opinions, critique policies, and participate in democratic processes without fear of censorship, intimidation, or cyber harassment. Any measures taken to regulate online spaces must be lawful, necessary, proportionate, and consistent with international human rights standards.
- Access to Information is an Everyday Right: Whether through government portals, social media, or digital archives, access to accurate and timely information empowers citizens to make informed decisions, demand accountability, and fully participate in civic life. Denial of information whether by design, technical barriers, or deliberate opacity undermines democracy.
- Digital Rights Are Human Rights: From algorithmic fairness to online safety, from digital inclusion to cybersecurity, the digital environment must be governed in a way that respects human dignity. Vulnerable groups women, children, persons with disabilities, and marginalised communities must be protected from digital harms while being meaningfully included in the benefits of technology.
As an organisation committed to advancing digital rights and civic participation in Nigeria, DigiCivic Initiative reaffirms its mission to promote digital literacy, combat digital rights violations, provide legal support, and champion policies that secure a safe, open, and rights-respecting digital ecosystem.
On this International Human Rights Day, we call on government institutions, technology companies, civil society, the media, and citizens to uphold the values that define our shared humanity. Human rights must remain our everyday essential online and offline, today and always.
Signed:
DigiCivic Initiative
Promoting Digital Rights. Empowering Citizens. Strengthening Democracy.
