Human rights are those rights that all people are entitled to simply because they are human beings. The concept of human rights is based on the idea that each person has worth and dignity, and so deserves certain basic freedoms. When these freedoms are recognized, each individual can enjoy safety, security, and the ability to make many decisions about his or her life. But defining and protecting human rights has been difficult, because there are many competing views as to the freedoms that make up human rights. Definitions of human rights continue to evolve.
Most of the international laws that define and guarantee human rights were developed by the United Nations (UN), an organization dedicated to worldwide peace and security. Almost every independent country in the world belongs to the UN. Thus, the UN unites most of the world into an international community.
The world’s societies also have contact with one another through private international associations called nongovernmental organizations (NGO’s); through trade; through culture; and through such media as newspapers, radio, television, and the Internet. This connectedness, sometimes called globalization, helps spread human rights awareness throughout the world. Furthermore, violations of human rights are now more likely to be exposed, and the UN and other organizations are more capable of combating those violations.
Types of human rights
Human rights can be classified into three main types: (1) rights of personal integrity, (2) civil liberties, and (3) social and economic rights. Rights of personal integrity are rights to personal safety and freedom. These rights include freedom from slavery, torture, and unreasonable imprisonment. Civil liberties are the rights of each person to express beliefs through words and actions. These rights include freedoms of speech, association, thought, conscience, and religion. Other civil liberties include the right to vote and run for office, and the right to marry and have a family. Some governments and groups also consider the rights of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community to be civil liberties. Social and economic rights involve basic human needs and rights of development. These include the right to food, shelter, medical care, and education; and the right to work and to form labor unions.
The development of human rights
Conversations and debates over human rights have been at the center of the human experience for thousands of years. All of the world’s religions, as well as philosophers since the ancient Greeks, have sought to establish codes and ethical norms of behavior. One important early document in these efforts was Magna Carta of 1215, which granted rights to individuals and ensured that England’s king would be subject to the law. Magna Carta became a model for later documents, such as the United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights, adopted in 1791. The Bill of Rights suggested the idea of universal rights. But in practice, it was not truly universal. For example, the bill excluded slaves and certain other groups. Thus, it failed to address human rights as we now understand them.
Modern ideas of human rights began to take shape after World War II (1939-1945) and the Holocaust, the systematic murder of millions of Jews and others by Germany’s Nazi government. The Holocaust forced world leaders to reconsider the traditional notion of national sovereignty, which holds that a nation’s government is the ultimate legal authority within that country. In the Nuremberg Trials, which began in 1945, the war’s victors charged Nazi leaders with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other offenses. These trials showed that international standards could outweigh national sovereignty when human rights were violated on a massive scale. 
Also in 1945, independent countries responded to World War II by forming the UN. The Charter of the United Nations, the UN’s constitution, was one of the first international documents to refer to human rights. The charter forbids discrimination on the basis of race, sex, language, or religion. But because the charter contains no specific list of human rights, the UN drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted on Dec. 10, 1948. This document sets forth the basic civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of every person.
The UN’s role in protecting human rights
Treaties.
The primary means through which the international community and the UN define and protect human rights is through the adoption of international treaties. Since the UN’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, nine major human rights treaties have been adopted by the UN and approved by its members.
In 1966, the UN adopted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. These treaties give legal protection to many rights outlined in the Universal Declaration. Since then, treaties have addressed such issues as the treatment of prisoners, the status of refugees, women’s rights, and children’s rights.
Relief and other assistance.
Sometimes, a country is unable or unwilling to provide for the most basic human rights. In such cases, UN relief efforts provide food, shelter, medical supplies, and other support.
The UN’s early human rights work focused mainly on responding to human rights abuses. Today, however, the organization also emphasizes education and other assistance to create governmental structures that can prevent human rights abuses. Many nations benefit from UN aid in the form of educational programs and technical specialists. Specialists include legal and other experts who oversee elections or provide training of prison officials and police officers.
Monitoring.
UN committees called treaty bodies monitor international enforcement of specific human rights treaties. In addition, the UN’s Human Rights Council reviews the human rights records of all UN members. When the UN suspects violations, it may appoint a group or individual to study and report on the situation. UN reports can expose a problem, which can then lead to international pressure on a government to resolve that problem with UN assistance.
Trade and diplomatic measures.
Sometimes, governments willfully and systematically violate human rights, even though they may have signed UN treaties forbidding such practices. Such governments may refuse to cooperate with UN diplomatic efforts to protect human rights. In rare cases, the UN may recommend sanctions (penalties) against an offending country. During sanctions, other nations restrict trade and diplomatic relations with the country.
Sanctions can be effective, but they may be slow to work. In 1962, the UN advised sanctions against South Africa in response to apartheid, a governmental system of racial segregation. In 1991, after years of sanctions and other pressures, the South African government repealed the last apartheid laws. Many critics argue, however, that sanctions can harm a country’s civilian population without bringing about the desired change in its governmental practices.
Peacekeeping.
Human rights violations may become widespread in times of civil unrest and in armed conflicts between regions. When regional governments cannot maintain order, the UN may approve military presence in an area. Normally, the UN sends peacekeeping troops with the consent of the opposing parties. Since the early 1990’s, the UN has dramatically increased its involvement in global peacekeeping operations.
Criminal trials.
In many armed conflicts, political and military leaders deliberately violate human rights. For example, rape is often a tactic employed to destroy a community. Since it began operations in 2003, the International Criminal Court, in association with the UN, has prosecuted and punished perpetrators of war crimes.
Roles of other organizations
Regional governmental bodies
are often important for protecting human rights within a region. Such groups as the African Union, the Arab League, the Council of Europe, and the Organization of American States have established systems to provide such protection.
Independent organizations
such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch help to influence public opinion and legal standards worldwide. They play a crucial role in calling attention to human rights abuses. For example, investigations by Amnesty International exposed human rights violations by the American government during the “war on terror” in the years following the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001. Human Rights Watch has publicized the plight of refugees of the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011, as well as the condition of other displaced persons around the world.
Human rights and cultural differences
People who allow or commit human rights violations sometimes claim that international standards—or their enforcement—intrude upon traditional practices within their culture. On the contrary, UN treaties protect cultural rights. However, those protections do not apply to any practice or incident that violates another person’s human rights. In all parts of the world, human rights principles can be absorbed and reinforced by existing traditions within cultures.
