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.

International Human Rights Law

International human rights law lays down the obligations of Governments to act in certain ways
or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental
freedoms of individuals or groups.

One of the great achievements of the United Nations is the creation of a comprehensive body of
human rights law—a universal and internationally protected code to which all nations can
subscribe and all people aspire. The United Nations has defined a broad range of internationally
accepted 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 carrying out
their responsibilities.

The foundations of this body of law are the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly in 1945 and 1948, respectively.
Since then, the United Nations has gradually expanded human rights law to encompass specific
standards for women, children, persons with disabilities, minorities and other vulnerable
groups, who now possess rights that protect them from discrimination that had long been
common in many societies.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of
human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all
regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly
in Paris on 10 December 1948 by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) as a common standard
of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental
human rights to be universally protected. Since its adoption in 1948, the UDHR has been
translated into more than 500 languages - the most translated document in the world - and has
inspired the constitutions of many newly independent States and many new democracies. The
UDHR, together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its
two Optional Protocols (on the complaints procedure and on the death penalty) and
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol,
form 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 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is the body of 18 independent
experts that monitors implementation of the Covenant by its States parties. Its
Optional Protocol entered into force in 2013. The human rights that the Covenant seeks to
promote and protect include

 the right to work in just and favourable conditions;

 the right to social protection, to an adequate standard of living and to the highest
attainable standards of physical and mental well-being;

 the right to education and the enjoyment of benefits of cultural freedom and scientific
progress.

Civil and political rights

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its First Optional Protocol entered
into force in 1976 and the Second Optional Protocol came into force in 1991. The Human Rights
Committee monitors the implementation of this multilateral treaty and its Optional Protocols.

The Covenant deals with such rights as freedom of movement; equality before the law; the right
to a fair trial and presumption of innocence; freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
freedom of opinion and expression; peaceful assembly; freedom of association; participation in
public affairs and elections; and protection of minority rights. It prohibits arbitrary deprivation
of life; torture, cruel or degrading treatment or punishment; slavery and forced labour; arbitrary
arrest or detention; arbitrary interference with privacy; war propaganda; discrimination; and
advocacy of racial or religious hatred.

Human Rights Conventions

A series of international human rights treaties and other instruments adopted since 1945 have
expanded the body of international human rights law. They include the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), the International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965), the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (1989) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), among others.

Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council, established on 15 March 2006 by the General Assembly and
reporting directly to it, replaced the 60-year-old UN Commission on Human Rights as the key UN
intergovernmental body responsible for human rights. The Council is made up of 47 State
representatives and is tasked with strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights
around the globe by addressing situations of human rights violations and making
recommendations on them, including responding to human rights emergencies

The most innovative feature of the Human Rights Council is the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
This unique mechanism involves a review of the human rights records of all 193 UN member
states once every four years. The Review is a cooperative, state-driven process, under the
auspices of the Council, which provides the opportunity for each state to present measures
taken and challenges to be met to improve the human rights situation in their country and to
meet their international obligations

The Review is designed to ensure universality and equality of treatment for every country and
takes place during the sessions of the UPR Working Group which meets three times a year. The
UPR Working Group consists of the 47 members of the Council.

Special Procedures and Investigative Bodies

The Human Rights Council also has special procedures that consist of independent human rights
experts who have the mandate to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or
country-specific perspective. These experts are not paid and are elected for 3-year mandates
that can be extended for another three years. As of November 2024, there are 46
thematic and 14 country mandates.

Since 2006, the Council has set up various investigative bodies to look into alleged violations in
specific countries. These have taken the form of fact-finding missions and commissions of
inquiry. In addition, there is one thematic body, the Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice
and Equality in Law Enforcement.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights exercises principal responsibility for
UN human rights activities. The High Commissioner is mandated to respond to serious violations
of human rights and to undertake preventive action.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the focal point for United
Nations human rights activities. It serves as the secretariat for the Human Rights Council,
the treaty bodies (expert committees that monitor treaty compliance) and other UN human
rights organs. It also undertakes human rights field activities.

Most of the core human rights treaties have an oversight body which is responsible for
reviewing the implementation of that treaty by the countries that have ratified it. Individuals,
whose rights have been violated can file complaints directly to Committees overseeing human
rights treaties.
Human Rights and the UN System

Human rights is a cross-cutting theme in all UN policies and programmes in the key areas of
peace and security, development, humanitarian assistance, and economic and social affairs. As a
result, virtually every UN body and specialized agency is involved to some degree in the
protection of human rights. Some examples are the right to development, which is at the core
of the Sustainable Development Goals; the right to food, championed by the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization, labour rights, defined and protected by the International Labour
Organization, gender equality, which is promulgated by UN Women, the rights of children,
indigenous peoples, and disabled persons

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 75

On 10 December 2023, the UN System celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.

The OHCHR conducted a year-long commemoration, the Human Rights Initiative, during which
150 Member States, NGOs, businesses and UN entities made pledges on a wide range of human
rights issues - from advancing women’s rights, and children’s rights, to commitments on climate
change, and empowering people with disabilities to ensure legislative reforms.

The three main goals focus of the initiative were focused in universality, progress and
engagement under the leadership of UN Human Rights, together with its partners. The 75th
Anniversary culminated in a high-level event in December 2023 that announced global
pledges and ideas for a vision for the future of human rights.

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Human rights are rights we have simply because we exist as human beings - they are not
granted by any state. These universal rights are inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, sex,
national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They range from the most
fundamental - the right to life - to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food,
education, work, health, and liberty.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the UN General Assembly in
1948, was the first legal document to set out the fundamental human rights to be universally
protected. The UDHR, which turns 75 on 10 December 2023, continues to be the foundation of
all international human rights law. Its 30 articles provide the principles and building blocks of
current and future human rights conventions, treaties and other legal instruments.
The UDHR, together with the 2 covenants - the International Covenant for Civil and Political
Rights, and the International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - make up
the International Bill of Rights.

Universal and inalienable

The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of international human rights
law. This means that we are all equally entitled to our human rights. This principle, as first
emphasized in the UDHR, is repeated in many international human rights conventions,
declarations, and resolutions.

Human rights are inalienable. They should not be taken away, except in specific situations and
according to due process. For example, the right to liberty may be restricted if a person is found
guilty of a crime by a court of law.

© UNICEF/UNI220918/Orozco

Indivisible and interdependent

All human rights are indivisible and interdependent. This means that one set of rights cannot
be enjoyed fully without the other. For example, making progress in civil and political rights
makes it easier to exercise economic, social and cultural rights. Similarly, violating economic,
social and cultural rights can negatively affect many other rights.

Related

Stand up for human rightsThe 30 articles of the UDHR30 articles about the 30 ArticlesThe
Declaration in more than 500 languagesTwo Covenants 50th AnniversaryShort videos on
human rights and treaty bodiesAre economic, social and political rights different from civil
and political rights?International human rights law

© EPA/Alanah M. Torralba.

Equal and non-discriminatory

Article 1 of the UDHR states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
Freedom from discrimination, set out in Article 2, is what ensures this equality.

Non-discrimination cuts across all international human rights law. This principle is present in all
major human rights treaties. It also provides the central theme of 2 core instruments: the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Both rights and obligations

All States have ratified at least 1 of the 9 core human rights treaties, as well as 1 of the 9
optional protocols. Eighty per cent of States have ratified 4 or more. This means that States have
obligations and duties under international law to respect, protect and fulfill human rights.

 The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or
curtailing the enjoyment of human rights.

 The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against
human rights abuses.

 The obligation to fulfill means that States must take positive action to facilitate the
enjoyment of basic human rights.

Meanwhile, as individuals, while we are entitled to our human rights – but, we should also
respect and stand up for the human rights of others.

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