Human rights are the fundamental freedoms and protections that all people are born with and entitled to just by being human. They are inalienable – they can never be taken away from any person – and interdependent and connected, with each right reliant on the others for their full enjoyment. They are civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the idea of human rights emerged in response to a growing sense of international conscience about issues like slavery, serfdom, brutal working conditions, the oppression of women, children and minorities, and discrimination based on race, sex or religion. In order to address these issues, nations began to sign international treaties that offered some protections.
These principles have been enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. It was the first document of its kind to explicitly spell out the rights that every person on Earth could expect to have simply because they are human.
The UDHR begins with the assertion that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. This is a simple idea, but it has profound implications. It means that all countries have a duty to respect the human rights of everyone on their territory, and that no country can claim a “better” record than another when it comes to protecting human rights.
Moreover, the document asserts that those rights cannot be violated by any person or group of persons without justification. This principle, known as the rule of law, requires that a government have a legitimate reason to arrest or punish someone, to deprive them of their property or liberty, or to kick them out of their homeland. It also states that habeas corpus – the legal guarantee of the right to trial before a judge and jury – must be respected by all governments.
Article 2 extends the concept of human rights even further. It says that everyone has the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal whenever his or her rights are violated. It also says that no one shall be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned, and that if they are, they must be promptly informed of the charges against them.
Human rights violations still happen, and they are a problem everywhere in the world. However, great progress has been made, as reflected in the fact that some of these rights are now considered fundamental and inalienable. These include the abolition of slavery, the vote for women, the collapse of apartheid in South Africa, and the growing requirement that countries must consider human rights when making international decisions.