Human rights are a fundamental set of principles and values that are rooted in the idea that all people are born free and equal in dignity and worth. These values are reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They are fundamental to all the work we do here at UNHCR.
In the modern world, many of us think that there are few areas of agreement on human rights. But this does not mean that there are no issues of disagreement – on the contrary, the number of disputes increases almost daily. Slavery, for example, is now universally condemned as a violation of human rights; so is female genital mutilation, and so is the death penalty. But there are also more areas of agreement, such as the principle that all human beings have a right to freedom and that no one shall be arbitrarily imprisoned or subjected to cruel treatment or torture.
The concept of human rights is a relatively recent development in the history of mankind, although the ideas which underlie it are not. They can be found in earlier tradition and documents of various cultures, but it was not until the atrocities of World War II that they were given the global prominence that they now enjoy.
Human rights have been recognised at the international level by a series of United Nations conventions, agreements and treaties, the most important of which is the UDHR adopted in 1948. These international agreements are not legally binding – they form part of what is known as soft law – but by ratifying them States recognise that they have obligations to uphold the principles laid down in these international instruments.
The UDHR and the other international instruments contain articles on different human rights, but all of them emphasise that human rights are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. This means that a human rights violation is not just an isolated incident, but it must be seen in the context of all the other violations which are taking place at the same time. Furthermore, the enjoyment of any one human right is dependent on the enjoyment of all other rights – the lack of any one right invariably restricts the enjoyment of the others.
At the national level, when human rights are recognised by a state, they become primarily a political commitment of the State to its people. However, a state may derogate from some of these rights in certain circumstances, such as when it invokes its right to self-defence in the face of a terrorist threat or imposes a curfew during a period of civil emergency.
It is important for States to be aware of the international standards on human rights, and this can be achieved by incorporating them into domestic legislation. In addition, there are regional and international mechanisms and procedures for individual complaints and communications, designed to help States fulfil their treaty obligations. The key is to make people aware of these international legal norms, so that they can take action when their rights are violated.