International Year for Human Rights

This vertical commemorative stamp, also executed by the engraver Albert Decaris, marks the 20th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights under the global auspices of the United Nations. The central graphic focuses on the official international emblem chosen for the 1968 campaign: a stylized flame of liberty rising between a symmetrical, curved wreath of twin olive branches, set against a dramatic, multi-layered background of sharp, radiating explosive sunbeams. Historically, this issue documents a crucial period of emerging political consciousness across the Indian Ocean overseas territory, as the local administration utilized the global postal network to formally endorse the humanitarian frameworks of self-determination, legal equity, and civil liberties codified by the UN General Assembly.