Human Rights, Defined

If you were to ask people on the street, “What are human rights?” you would probably get many different answers. Generally, people may say that they know they have the right to food and a safe place to stay; they know they have a right to be paid for the work they do. But there are many other rights.

At the Human Rights Committee (HRC) of the UNA-NCA, we work toward informing our community of current human rights issues and recent work being done by the United Nations. This year, in honor of the 70th anniversary of the writing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) the HRC will be writing a series of articles leading up to Human Rights Day, defining and discussing what each human right is and how it relates to those of us living in our Nation’s Capital.

So let’s get started! What are human rights?

Human Rights are the freedoms that you are guaranteed simply because you are human. A right is a freedom of some kind; something to which you are entitled by virtue of being human. According to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, you have 30 of these rights.

Human rights are based on the principle of respect for the individual. Their fundamental assumption is that each person is a moral and rational being who deserves to be treated with dignity.

In ages past, there were no human rights. Then the idea emerged that people should have certain freedoms. On October 24, 1945, in the aftermath of World War II, the United Nations came into being as an intergovernmental organization, with the purpose of saving future generations from the devastation of international conflict.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission, under the chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt, then saw to the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Declaration was drafted by representatives of all regions of the world and encompassed all legal traditions. Formally adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, it is the most universal human rights document in existence, delineating the thirty fundamental rights that form the basis for a democratic society.

Following this historic act, the Assembly called upon all Member Countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.”

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it is the most translated document in the world. However despite being the most translated document in the world, these human rights are understood by only a small percentage of the world’s population.

So what’s wrong with that? A lot. When human rights are not well known by people, abuses such as discrimination, intolerance, injustice, oppression, and slavery can arise.

These rights are there for your protection against people who might want to harm or hurt you. They are also there to help us get along with each other and live in peace.

Learn more about what you can do to help improve human rights in the DC area by joining the UNA Human Rights Committee and help make a difference in your community. Reach out to us today or visit the UNA-NCA website!

This post was written by Erica Rodgers, UNA-NCA Human Rights Committee Member, as the introduction to an ongoing series focused on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.