Human rights are the fundamental standards that define a person’s dignity. These rights are not only innate to every individual, they are also inherent to all human societies. It is for this reason that human rights are endorsed by all cultures, civilised governments and religions, including most of the world’s major religious groups.
They are the foundation of the international legal system for protecting individuals from human rights violations and upholding individual autonomy and freedom. They are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other treaties that form part of the human rights framework at global, regional and national levels.
It has been more than 70 years since the world’s leaders first explicitly set out the rights that everyone on the planet can expect and demand simply because they are human. The terrible atrocities of World War II galvanised worldwide opinion and sparked the emergence of this new body of international law that we now call human rights.
Several regional human rights systems have been established in Europe, the Americas and Africa to complement the work done by the UN. These bodies are a crucial step in the process of creating an international legal regime that is consistent, transparent and effective.
It is important to note that human rights are indivisible, meaning that one right cannot be viewed in isolation from others. It is also worth bearing in mind that the enjoyment of some rights may depend, wholly or partly, on the enjoyment of others. This is especially true of civil and political rights, but is also the case for economic, social and cultural rights.