Human Rights
What Are Human Rights?
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality,
ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. 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 more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without
discrimination.
Human Rights Watch documents right abuses around the world with the ultimate goal of
ending them and bringing the perpetrators to justice. Change doesn’t come easily, and in
some cases it can be painfully slow. And it rarely comes from our efforts alone, but rather
from the combined efforts of numerous groups and activists.
Why are Human Rights Important?
Human rights reflect the minimum standards necessary for people to live with dignity.
Human rights give people the freedom to choose how they live, how they express themselves,
and what kind of government they want to support, among many other things. Human rights
also guarantee people the means necessary to satisfy their basic needs, such as food, housing,
and education, so they can take full advantage of all opportunities. Finally, by guaranteeing
life, liberty, equality, and security, human rights protect people against abuse by those who
are more powerful.
According to the United Nations, human rights:
“Ensure that a human being will be able to fully develop and use human qualities such as
intelligence, talent, and conscience and satisfy his or her spiritual and other “
Where do Human Rights come from?
The modern human rights era can be traced to struggles to end slavery, genocide,
discrimination, and government oppression. Atrocities during World War II made clear that
previous efforts to protect individual rights from government violations were inadequate.
Thus was born the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as part of the emergence
of the United Nations (UN).
The UDHR was the first international document that spelled out the “basic civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights that all human beings should enjoy.” The declaration was
ratified without opposition by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948.
When it was adopted, the UDHR was not legally binding, though it carried great moral
weight. In order to give the human rights listed in the UDHR the force of law, the UN drafted
two treaties, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The division of
rights between these two covenants is artificial, reflecting the global ideological divide during
the Cold War. Though politics prevented the creation of a unified treaty, the two covenants
are interconnected, and the rights contained in one covenant are necessary to the fulfillment
of the rights contained in the other. Together, the UDHR, ICCPR, and ICESCR are known as
the International Bill of Human Rights. They contain a comprehensive list of human rights
that governments must respect, protect, and fulfill.
Who is Responsible for Upholding Human Rights?
Under human rights treaties, governments have the primary responsibility for protecting and
promoting human rights. However, governments are not solely responsible for ensuring
human rights. The UDHR states:
“Every individual and every organ of society … shall strive by teaching and education to
promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and
international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance.”
Now, you already know the reason why we need Human Rights.
Will you stand for Human Rights too?