Human Rights

According to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), human rights are “basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.” These can include right to life, liberty, freedom of expression, equality before law and economic and social rights, right to work, right to education and right to food. The UDHR, from where the definition has been taken, is actually a non-biding resolution adopted in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly, but it has gained increased relevance in international law.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has a mandate to investigate violations of human rights. It is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly and ranks below the United Nations General Assembly. The membership in the council has been set for a term of six years, but it can be suspended if members are found to have been involved in gross human rights violation. The Council can request the Security Council to take action against violations of human rights taking place. This action can include not just sanctions but also referring cases to the International Criminal Court. There are independent experts working for the Council to investigate alleged human rights abuses and report the same on a regular basis.

Besides this, there is also the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) which leads several treaty-based bodies or committees of independent experts monitoring the implementation of the core international human rights treaties. These treaties have been ratified varyingly by different countries and states. The treaties and bodies emerged after the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Program of Action. Some of these committees include Human Rights Committee, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Committee on the Rights of the Child etc. In addition to all these, there are also different regional treaties agreed by countries.