The United Nations pinpoint the origin of Human Rights to the year 539 BC. When the troops of Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon, Cyrus freed the slaves, declared that all people had the right to choose their own religion, and established racial equality. These and other precepts were recorded on a baked-clay cylinder known as the Cyrus Cylinder, whose provisions served as inspiration for the first four Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The English Carta Magna, a starting point for modern democracy

Based on these decrees, civilizations in India, as well as Greece and Rome, expanded on the concept of ‘natural law’ and society continued to make progress, leading to another cornerstone of the history of Human Rights: the Magna Carta of 1215, accepted by King John of England, considered by many experts as the document that marks the start of modern democracy.

Also known as the Great Charter, this document covered, among other things, the right of widows who owned property to choose not to remarry, and established principles of equality before the law.

Birth of the United Nations

In the mid 20th Century, well after the First Geneva Convention in 1864, which established a series of rules in the context of armed conflicts, we witnessed the birth of what we now know as the United Nations in 1945. Exactly at the end of the Second World War, fifty states gathered together to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind”, as stated in the preamble to the proposed charter.

Three years later, the 30 articles that make up the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were presented to the world, acting for the first time as a recognized and internationally accepted charter whose first article states that “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.”

These principles owe their name to their creator, John Ruggie, who was Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, and they are a standard which include the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights based on three pillars: protect, respect and remedy.

According to said principles, the state must protect communities from any adverse effects that businesses may cause. Businesses are responsible for respecting human rights and not causing any negative impact. Lastly, the third pillar makes reference to remedying any damage caused.

Human Rights today in a globalized world

Up until the 1990s, states were considered to be the main parties responsible for Human Rights violations. Nowadays, in a globalized world with global integration of employment, goods and service markets, new kinds of violations have emerged, such as what the ILO (International Labour Organization) terms modern slavery, defined as “any work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself”, which Pope Francis has already referred to as an evil to be eradicated.

This is why respect for Human Rights has also become a primary concern in the private sector, due to the impact generated by its activities. In this context, the Ruggie Principles were created in 2008 specifically in order to end violations such as the elimination of trade-union freedom or forced labour in the business sphere.

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December — the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a milestone document, which proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Available in more than  500 Languages, it is the most translated document in the world.

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more.  Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.

2022 Theme: Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All

Join us for a year-long campaign to promote and recognize the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. will be celebrated on 10 December 2023. Ahead of this milestone, starting on this year’s Human Rights Day on 10 December 2022, we will launch a year-long campaign to showcase the UDHR by focusing on its legacy, relevance and activism.

 What is the theme of Human Rights Day?

Every year Human Rights Day is celebrated with a special theme. This is done to raise awareness and instill the importance of human rights in the minds of the people. The themes for the last five years are listed below:

• 2021: Equality: Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights
• 2020: Recover Better – Stand Up for Human Rights
• 2019: Youth Standing Up for Human Rights
• 2018 – Stand Up for Human Rights
• 2017 – Let’s stand up for equality, justice and human dignity

How is the day celebrated?

The day is celebrated by organizing the political conferences, meetings, exhibitions, cultural events, debates and many more programs to discuss all the issues of human rights. Most of the events held on the day are aimed to instruct people, children as well as teenagers about their human rights. Some of the protest activities are also held in order to aware the people from areas where the human rights are unrecognized or disrespected.

Objectives of celebrating Human Rights Day

The day is celebrated across the world to:

• Promote awareness about human rights among the people
• Emphasize the endeavours of the United Nations General Assembly in order to progress the overall human rights conditions.
• Get together and celebrate in co-operation to discuss and highlight the specific issues of the human rights.
• Encourage the vulnerable group of people like women, minorities, youth, poor, disabled person, indigenous people etc. to take part in this event and political decision-making.
• International human rights law lays down the obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.
• One of the great achievements of the United Nations is the creation of a comprehensive body of human rights law—a universal and internationally protected code to which all nations can subscribe and all people aspire. The United Nations has defined a broad range of internationally accepted rights, including civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. It has also established mechanisms to promote and protect these rights and to assist states in carrying out their responsibilities.
• The foundations of this body of law are the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly in 1945 and 1948, respectively.  Since then, the United Nations has gradually expanded human rights law to encompass specific standards for women, children, persons with disabilities, minorities and other vulnerable groups, who now possess rights that protect them from discrimination that had long been common in many societies.

Documents asserting individual rights, such the Magna Carta (1215), the English Bill of Rights (1689), the French Declaration on the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789), and the US Constitution and Bill of Rights (1791) are the written precursors to many of today’s human rights documents. Yet many of these documents, when originally translated into policy, excluded women, people of color, and members of certain social, religious, economic, and political groups. Nevertheless, oppressed people throughout the world have drawn on the principles these documents express to support revolutions that assert the right to self-determination.

Contemporary international human rights law and the establishment of the United Nations (UN) have important historical antecedents. Efforts in the 19th century to prohibit the slave trade and to limit the horrors of war are prime examples. In 1919, countries established the International Labor Organization (ILO) to oversee treaties protecting workers with respect to their rights, including their health and safety. Concern over the protection of certain minority groups was raised by the League of Nations at the end of the First World War. However, this organization for international peace and cooperation, created by the victorious European allies, never achieved its goals. The League floundered because the United States refused to join and because the League failed to prevent Japan’s invasion of China and Manchuria (1931) and Italy’s attack on Ethiopia (1935). It finally died with the onset of the Second World War (1939).

he Birth of the United Nations

The idea of human rights emerged stronger after World War II. The extermination by Nazi Germany of over six million Jews, Sinti and Romani (gypsies), homosexuals, and persons with disabilities horrified the world. Trials were held in Nuremberg and Tokyo after World War II, and officials from the defeated countries were punished for committing war crimes, “crimes against peace,” and “crimes against humanity.”

Governments then committed themselves to establishing the United Nations, with the primary goal of bolstering international peace and preventing conflict. People wanted to ensure that never again would anyone be unjustly denied life, freedom, food, shelter, and nationality. The essence of these emerging human rights principles was captured in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union Address when he spoke of a world founded on four essential freedoms: freedom of speech and religion and freedom from want and fear (See using Human rights here & now). The calls came from across the globe for human rights standards to protect citizens from abuses by their governments, standards against which nations could be held accountable for the treatment of those living within their borders. These voices played a critical role in the San Francisco meeting that drafted the united nations charter in 1945.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Member States of the United Nations pledged to promote respect for the human rights of all. To advance this goal, the UN established a Commission of human rights and charged it with the task of drafting a document spelling out the meaning of the fundamental rights and freedoms proclaimed in the Charter. The Commission, guided by Eleanor Roosevelt’s forceful leadership, captured the world’s attention.

On December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the 56 members of the United Nations. The vote was unanimous, although eight nations chose to abstain.

The UDHR, commonly referred to as the international Magna Carta, extended the revolution in international law ushered in by the United Nations Charter – namely, that how a government treats its own citizens is now a matter of legitimate international concern, and not simply a domestic issue. It claims that all rights are interdependent and indivisible. Its Preamble eloquently asserts that:

The influence of the UDHR has been substantial. Its principles have been incorporated into the constitutions of most of the more than 185 nations now in the UN. Although a declaration is not a legally binding document, the Universal Declaration has achieved the status of customary international law because people regard it “as a common standard of achievement for all people and all nations.”

The Human Rights Covenants

With the goal of establishing mechanisms for enforcing the UDHR, the UN Commission on Human Rights proceeded to draft two treaties: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its optional  protocol nd the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Together with the Universal Declaration, they are commonly referred to as the International Bill of Human Rights. The ICCPR focuses on such issues as the right to life, freedom of speech, religion, and voting. The ICESCR focuses on such issues as food, education, health, and shelter. Both  covenants trumpet the extension of rights to all persons and prohibit discrimination.

As of 1997, over 130 nations have ratified these covenants. The United States, however, has ratified only the ICCPR, and even that with many reservations, or formal exceptions, to its full compliance. (See From concept to convention to convention to con

In addition to the covenants in the International Bill of Human Rights, the United Nations has adopted more than 20 principal treaties further elaborating human rights. These include conventions to prevent and prohibit specific abuses like torture and geocide  and to protect especially vulnerable populations, such as refugees (Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951), women (Convention oath the Eliminating of all forms of Discriminations against Women,, 1989). As of 1997 the United States has ratified only these conventions:

In Europe, the Americas, and Africa, regional documents for the protection and promotion of human rights extend the International Bill of Human Rights. For example, African states have created their own Charter of Human and People’s Rights (1981), and Muslim states have created the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (1990). The dramatic changes in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America since 1989 have powerfully demonstrated a surge in demand for respect of human rights. Popular movements in China, Korea, and other Asian nations reveal a similar commitment to these principles..

Conclusion:

Every person has dignity and value. One of the ways that we recognise the fundamental worth of every person is by acknowledging and respecting their human rights. Human rights are a set of principles concerned with equality and fairness. They recognise our freedom to make choices about our lives and to develop our potential as human beings. They are about living a life free from fear, harassment or discrimination.

Human rights can broadly be defined as a number of basic rights that people from around the world have agreed are essential. These include the right to life, the right to a fair trial, freedom from torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the rights to health, education and an adequate standard of living. These human rights are the same for all people everywhere – men and women, young and old, rich and poor, regardless of our background, where we live, what we think or what we believe. This is what makes human rights ‘universal’.