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Human rights are the inalienable possession of all human beings, without distinction of any kind on the basis of race, color, sex, language, religion, national or social origin, or any other aspect. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many others. These rights should be enjoyed by all human beings, without discrimination of any kind.
International Human Rights Law
International human rights law defines the legal obligations of states to act or refrain from acting in certain ways to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.
One of the most important achievements of the United Nations is the creation of a comprehensive body of human rights law, a universal and internationally protected code to which any state may accede and to which all persons aspire. The Organization has defined a wide range of internationally recognized rights, including civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. It has also established mechanisms to promote and protect these rights and to assist states in fulfilling their obligations.
The foundation of this body of law is the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly in 1945 and 1948, respectively. Since then, the UN has progressively expanded human rights law to include specific rules for women, children, persons with disabilities, minorities, and other vulnerable groups, who now have rights that protect them from discrimination that have long existed in many societies.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a fundamental document of historical importance. The text of the Declaration was the result of a close collaboration of legal experts from all regions of the world. The Declaration was adopted by United Nations General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) in Paris on 10 December 1948, as a document whose principles all peoples and nations are bound to uphold. It defined, for the first time in human history, basic human rights that needed to be protected at the international level.
Since its adoption in 1948, the Declaration has been translated into more than 500 languages, becoming the most translated document in the world, and has served as a benchmark for the constitutions of many newly independent states and many young democracies. Together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols (on a complaints procedure and on the death penalty) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, these three instruments constitute the so-called International Bill of Human Rights.
Economic, social and cultural rights
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entered into force in 1976. The human rights the Covenant seeks to promote and enforce include, but are not limited to:
The right of everyone to just and favorable conditions of work;
the right of everyone to social security, the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health;
the right to education, the right to participate in cultural life, and the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress.
Civil and political rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its first Optional Protocol entered into force in 1976. The Second Optional Protocol was adopted in 1989.
The Covenant recognizes the right to freedom of movement; equality before the law; a fair and public trial; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; freedom of opinion and expression; peaceful assembly; freedom of association with others; participation in public affairs; and minority rights. It prohibits arbitrary deprivation of life; torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; slavery and forced labor; arbitrary arrest and detention; arbitrary interference with privacy; propaganda for war; discrimination; and incitement to racial or religious hatred.
