International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims 2023: Date, History, Facts

The United Nations designates March 24 as International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. Saint scar Arnulfo Romero, a slain human rights activist from El Salvador, was the inspiration for its creation. The United Nations also desires that this day be used to commemorate each and every victim of human rights violations and to advocate for truth and justice in every instance.

The background of International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims

Saint scar Romero was born in 1917 and was a native of El Salvador; he entered the seminary at the age of 13 after developing an early interest in becoming a priest. After completing his studies in Rome, Romero was summoned back to El Salvador in 1943, where he began a long and initially conservative career that culminated in his becoming the Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977. Priests who were more outspokenly progressive feared that his conservative reputation would lead to more government-friendly activities and hinder the church’s stance on aiding the impoverished.

When Romero’s friend and fellow priest Rutilio Grande, who had been establishing self-reliance groups among the poor, was murdered, he began to criticize the military government’s heavy-handed methods of oppressing the citizens. He went on to devote his life to defending the impoverished in El Salvador, for which the government issued death threats. However, Romero persisted, even garnering worldwide recognition for his outspokenness.

Romero was murdered while attending Mass in a chapel at Hospital de la Divina Providencia on March 24, 1980. An investigation into his death determined that a right-wing pro-government political party had ordered the murder, but the perpetrators were never prosecuted or even publicly identified.

The United Nations proclaimed March 24 as International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims in honor of Archbishop Oscar Romero and to encourage more individuals to support the struggle for the truth.

5 FACTS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SAINT ROMERO AND HIS LEGACY

73% of the rural population and 47% of the urban population regularly tuned in to his weekly radio sermons on the church’s radio station YSAX.

Nearly 250,000 mourners attended what other clergymen described as “the largest demonstration in the history of El Salvador and Latin America.”

Numerous church groups in Latin America assert that Saint Romero is the unofficial patron saint of El Salvador and all of Latin America.

Romero is one of the 20th-century martyrs whose statue was unveiled in front of Queen Elizabeth II in 1998 above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey in London.

“Paulist Productions,” a Roman Catholic production company founded by the Paulist Fathers, produced “Romero” in 1989, making it the order’s first Hollywood production.

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE RIGHT TO THE TRUTH CONCERNING GROSS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND FOR THE DIGNITY OF VICTIMS DATES

Year	Date	Day
2023	March 24	Friday
2024	March 24	Sunday
2025	March 24	Monday
2026	March 24	Tuesday
2027	March 24	Wednesday