Friday, April 2, 2010

What are human rights, and the amazing UDHR!

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.  They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

A non-binding declaration, the UDHR was adopted by the UNGA in 1948 because of what happened during the Second World War and is the first truly global document pushing for human rights' protection.  Although countries do not have to abide by the declaration legally, most recognize the UDHR as customary law and thus act according (with exceptions of course).  The text of the UDHR can be found here.

These are some of the many rights protected in the UDHR:
- the right to life (Art. 3)
- the right to liberty (Art. 3)
- the right to security of person (Art. 3)
- the right to recognition everywhere as a person of the law (Art. 6)
- the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal (Art. 10)
- the right to a nationality (Art. 15)
- the right to own property (Art. 17)
- the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Art. 18)
- the right to work (Art. 23)
- the right to education (Art. 26)

...and it doesn't stop there.  Know your human rights!  The preceding video does an AMAZING job of explaining to you what these are and where they come from.  Watch it!