The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is generally regarded as the basis of international human rights law. The UDHR, adopted in 1948, has inspired a large number of legally binding international human rights treaties. It continues to inspire us all, whether in addressing injustices, in times of conflict, in societies suffering from oppression and in our efforts to enjoy human rights universally. It represents the universal recognition that fundamental rights and freedoms are inherent in all human beings, inalienable and equally applicable to all, and that each of us is born free and equal in dignity and rights. Regardless of nationality, place of residence, gender, national or ethnic origin, skin colour, religion, language or any other status, the international community voted on 10 March. December 1948 pledged to defend dignity and justice for us all. The international human rights movement was strengthened when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10, 1948. The Declaration, formulated as a “common standard of achievement for all peoples and nations”, establishes for the first time in human history fundamental civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all peoples should enjoy. It has been widely accepted over time as the core human rights standards that everyone should respect and protect. Together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the UDHR forms the International Bill of Human Rights. International human rights law began in response to the horrors of war, particularly the Second World War, although the Geneva Conventions began earlier.
The establishment of the United Nations gave international legitimacy to human rights, particularly because many nations signed the Charter of the United Nations, which explicitly mentions human rights (Preamble, Chapter I). Since the founding of the United Nations, it has adopted numerous treaties and resolutions committing signatories to respect human rights. It had also set up courts to prosecute persons suspected of gross violations of human rights. In addition, several other organizations have emerged and have been established by various treaties. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, for example, ensures that signatories to the American Convention on Human Rights respect this treaty. The European Convention on Human Rights obliges members of the Council of Europe to respect the human rights obligations set out therein. The Convention explicitly mentions the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and calls on all signatories to respect the fundamental principles of the document. Both the European and American Human Rights Conventions have international tribunals before which complaints of human rights violations can be brought. In addition, several African countries have signed the African Charter on Human and Peoples` Rights.
Many countries have ratified United Nations international human rights instruments. Thus, many human rights instruments, tribunals and declarations have been established since the Second World War, some of which inspired early human rights proclamations such as the Universal Declaration. Human rights remain an increasingly important international law. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) recognizes that children also have human rights and that persons under the age of 18 require special protection to ensure respect for their full development, survival and well-being. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965) prohibits and condemns racial discrimination and obliges States parties to take measures to bring it to an end by all appropriate means, whether committed by public authorities or by other means. Many United Nations peacekeeping operations, as well as political and peacebuilding missions, also have human rights mandates aimed at contributing to the protection and promotion of human rights through immediate and long-term action; empower people to assert and claim their human rights; and to enable the State and other national institutions to fulfil their human rights obligations and uphold the rule of law. Everyone has the right to social security as a member of society and to the right to the realization of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality, through national efforts and international cooperation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State. In Europe, America and Africa, regional documents on the protection and promotion of human rights extend the International Bill of Human Rights.
For example, African states created their own Charter on Human and Peoples` Rights (1981), and Muslim states created the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (1990). The dramatic changes in Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America since 1989 have shown a sharp increase in the demand for respect for human rights. People`s movements in China, Korea and other Asian countries show a similar commitment to these principles. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, based in Geneva and with numerous regional offices, is responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights within the United Nations system. On the other hand, a non-binding instrument is basically only a declaration or political agreement by States that all attempts are made to realize a set of rights without any legal obligation to do so. In practice, this means that there are no formal (or legal) implementation mechanisms, although there may be strong political commitments to do so. The human rights treaty bodies are committees of independent experts that monitor the implementation of the core international human rights instruments.