The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a charter accepted and adopted by the United Nations. Officially, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is part of the International Bill of Human Rights which is an informal title given to two treaties created by the United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights came into being after WWII and it is representative of the first time in history where the world was mobilized to establish rights that all human beings are innately born with.

After the atrocities committed in Nazi Germany, there was a need for something of this nature as one of the United Nation’s main goals was to reiterate fundamental human rights for all. Several people were involved in drafting the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the forerunner being John Peters Humphrey. At the time of the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights he was the Director of the Division of Human Rights within the United Nations Secretariat. The Commission on Human Rights was commissioned to take on this project after Humphrey provided them with the initial draft. The United Nations wanted the members of this commission to be representative of the world and it was a very diverse group of people originating from countries ranging from Australia, Iran, and Yugoslavia to just name a few. A very famous author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was Eleanor Roosevelt who was the chairman.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 by a landslide vote. No countries were against this charter, while 8 abstained; these countries were Soviet Bloc states. As of 1998, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been unanimously adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Every year on December 10, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is commemorated and it is known as Human Rights Day or International Human Rights Day.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has not only been adopted by the United Nations and been integral in many of their efforts but it has also become a part of customary international law. Customary international law is the basis of practice in the International Court of Justice. Apart from being institutional in international law and the United Nations, this charter has also had a tremendous influence in the constitutions of other countries. Furthermore, this document has also served as the foundation for two major United Nations human rights covenants.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has received both praise and criticism from dignitaries across the world. Officials around the world including Pope John Paul II as well as organizations such as the EU have praised this document. However, in certain parts of the world this charter does not have the same creed. Primarily in Islamic countries such as Sudan, Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia there has been criticism for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Their argument is that the charter does not take into account cultural and religious factors. While there is a certain level of criticism for this declaration, it is for the most part one of the defining pieces of work in the 20th century and has had a tremendously positive influence worldwide.

International Human Rights Law

According to freemylife.com, International human rights law is a system of laws, domestic, regional, and international designed to promote human rights. Human rights law is made up of various international human rights instruments which are binding to its parties.

An important concept within human rights law is that of universal jurisdiction. This concept, is not widely accepted, is that any nation is authorized to prosecute and punish violations of human rights wherever and whenever that may have occurred. Some customary norms in human rights law are also recognized and these are considered binding on all nations, even if they have not ratified any relevant treaties. International human rights law is carried out on a domestic level and nation states that ratify international human rights law treaties, commit themselves to enact domestic human rights legislations. In addition to international human rights law, human rights law has been created on a regional level. These three main regional statutes regarding international human rights law are African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the American Convention on Human rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights. International human rights law is related to, but not the same as international humanitarian law, and refugee law. Areas such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide have their own treaty laws.

The premier ruling on international human rights law is the Universal Declaration of Human rights. While this charter is not a form of legally binding international human rights law, it is the status quo on this topic. Some legal experts postulate that the UDHR is the basis for customary international law, and has become the premier reference in international human rights law. The international human rights law movement began after WWII and was strengthened when the United nations General Assembly adopted the UDHR. International human rights treaties and other instruments adopted have granted legal form on innate human rights and developed the body of international human rights law.

Under international human rights law, there are clear obligations that states are bout to respect and by becoming a part of international treaties, nations are signing on to do their part to protect international human rights law. There is a struggle in many places of the world where these laws are not being upheld. Currently, places such as the Darfur region in Sudan and Sierra Leone are extremely volatile with a great deal of political unrest. There humans are being denied their very basic rights therefore it is quite imperative that international human rights law exists and that there is an international forum in which to try criminals to violate these laws.

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Founded under the name Helsinki Watch in 1978, the Human Rights Watch, was to ensure the former Soviet Union’s observance of the Helsinki Accords. As Helsinki Watch grew, it created various other “watch committees” to cover other regions of the world. In 1988, all other committees were united under one umbrella to form Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch is a strong defender of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and it opposes violations of basic human rights which include capital punishment, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Human Rights Watch also speaks for fundamental human rights such as freedom of religion and the press.

One of Human Rights Watch’s primary activities is the production of research reports regarding violations of international human rights norms as set out by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and what it represents. Human Rights Watch researches conduct fact finding missions to investigate certain fishy situations and generate media coverage in local and international media. Issues that have been raised by Human Rights Watch in the past include gender discrimination, torture, military use of children, political corruption, abuses in criminal justice systems, and the legalization of abortion. Human Rights Watch also speaks for people such as writers who are being persecuted for their work and are in need to financial assistance.

Human Rights Watch is one of six international NGOs that founded the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers in 1998, and it also is very active in the campaign to ban landmines. Recently Human Rights Watch made the news by criticizing the Jordanian government for arresting elected officials who praised the head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq as well as the mass killings and the government imposed famines during the last decade of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Like any organization the Human Rights Watch has received some criticism which can be separated into two main categories: accusations of selection bias and accusations of ideological bias. The NGO Monitor has pointed out that Human Rights Watch is against open, democratic regimes where journalists and citizens can monitor abuses, and abusive regimes. Human Rights Watch as also been criticized for being anti-Western, anti-China, anti-Serb, anti-Sri Lankan, and anti-Israeli while other have criticized them for the opposite. Whichever what you look at it, there will certainly be some criticisms however they must also be awarded a great deal of praise for the work that they have done and continue to do.

Human Rights

Human rights refer to basic rights and freedoms that all humans are inherently entitled to regardless of sex, creed, color, or anything else. Example of basic human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, equality before the law, social/cultural/economic rights, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education. The protection of human rights has been an age old idea and there is evidence in old Persian texts and as recently as the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. However, the international recognition of human rights is fairly recent.

The main international norms in regards to human rights are International Humanitarian Law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. International Humanitarian Law came into being at the Geneva conventions and was meant to reduce war crimes. International humanitarian law, guaranteed basic human rights to prisoners of war or civilians in areas of combat. International humanitarian law protects human rights, and is upheld in the International Court of Justice. The next universally accepted norm in the field of human rights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was composed after the creation of the United Nations. After the atrocities committed in WWII by Nazi Germany, it became apparent that a body of work must exist that clearly outlines and defends the fundamental human rights that all persons are guaranteed.

Human rights are now protected by international laws, which are defended at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands. There are also many treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights which were both adopted by the United Nations thus making the rights guaranteed in these documents and the UDHR legally binding to all member states. Human rights has become such an important issue that the United Nations has designated a special council called the United Nations Human Rights Council to research human rights and submit reports and make recommendations to the General Assembly who will then in turn make recommendations to the Security Council.

Aside from internationally accepted norms, most countries or regional blocs also have a charter or document outlining human rights laws for its’ citizens. The focus on human rights is really essential, as without basic fundamental rights that we are all born without it we are no better than animals and savages. While there are always conflicts among us, there needs to be a line drawn when it comes to violating basic human rights and needs.