International Declaration of Human Rights and Freedoms
History
After the war crimes committed by the Germans in the holocaust that occurred during World War II, the United nations decided to create a document guaranteeing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all people, regardless of race, sex, language, or religion. This document was called The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The declaration was voted in on December 10, 1948, which is now celebrated each year as Human Rights Day. The Declaration says that “all human beings are born free and equal” and establishes basic rights for all people and rules for the actions of governments in many areas
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Notably the United States has only signed the treaty concerning genocide. Other countries have also refused to sign the conventions because of concerns about the specific terms of the conventions and the loss of authority that such treaties imply.
Recent Human Rights Activities
The UN’s most well known recent activities dealing with human rights are the two International Criminal Tribunals held to bring to justice those responsible for the horrible acts of violence committed during the recent civil wars in the former countries of Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The tribunal for crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia was established by the UN’s Security Council in 1993. The council started the Rwanda tribunal in 1994. They are the first international war crimes trials since the Nürnberg Trials for Nazi war criminals that followed World War II. Although the tribunals were established by the Security Council, they operated independently of the UN. The trials depend on contributions from countries to keep operating and were often hampered by financial shortages. Another more serious problem was the inability to arrest suspects in countries that do not recognize the treaties brought in by the UN as valid. The Yugoslav tribunal indicted 75 people for war crimes and genocide, including the top military and political leaders of the Serb forces in Bosnia and a high officer in the Croatian
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development have several similarities which include their promotion of democracy or for the general public to be the authority for the government. Both lists are products of their times, as neither mention anything around LGBTQ+ rights, though the Copenhagen Declaration states that there shall be no discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS, which at the time, was comprised of a majority of gay men. The Universal Declaration was written shortly after the end of the second world war and during the rise of the Cold war. The influences of these two conflicts can be seen in multiple sections, such as the freedom to rebel against oppressive government, the right
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, categories all human beings as free. Article one identify all human beings as 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. Article two states, Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust,
There have been a number of instances in which the United Nations is not effective in enforcing international law. They are not successful as states are able to decline the authority of the International Court of Justice to hear the case. This
The first, of the five, is Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's “Four Freedoms” speech. “In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt. These "four freedoms" are; the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. They symbolized America 's war aims and gave hope in the following years to a war-wearied people. President Roosevelt’s vision for an international organization soon became the United Nations just after his death. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations in 1948. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights set out fundamental human rights to be universally protected. This speech from F.D.R provided a voice to the people and freedom to be their own person. The
Genocide is definitely a huge problem that has troubled the world in the past, and still continues to do so. The United Nations must intervene in genocide because it is their job. If they are not going to try and solve problems, then the supranational organization can be disbanded, and World War III will be the result. According to the Office of the Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, the United Nations has a few roles when it comes to genocide. First of all, they are supposed to raise awareness of genocide, by teaching States and their governments to institute prevention mechanisms, and how to handle ethnic diversity so that the different ethnic groups can coexist peacefully. Secondly, they are supposed to collect information on serious violations of human rights and humanitarian laws, that if not stopped may lead to genocide. They, in a timely matter, must also report situations of concern to the Security Council. Lastly, they are required to mobilize the United Nations’ system and other key partners to conduct missions to countries where intervention is needed. As previous genocides have shown us, the United Nations do not perform these acts to the extent that they are required to do so. According to these genocide guidelines that were created at the Convention for Genocide Prevention, there is absolutely no excuse for mass ethnic atrocities and genocides. When, and if, the United
There have been many cases of Crimes against Humanity during history, the most well known one probably being “The Holocaust”. If you don’t know what The Holocaust is, it is when hitler gassed and worked to death over 6 million jews. This is the Crime that made the world create an international community such as the United Nations, to try to prevent or end any crimes, or mass genocides like the Holocaust. The United Nation is the society that issues punishments to countries or people who issue out genocides or commit Crimes against Humanity, and also deals with the protection of smaller countries that don’t have the funds to protect themselves, but some people say that the United Nations aren’t doing their job. Some people would think it is a better idea for the bigger, richer countries, such as United States, Russia, and other richer countries, to help end these crimes. If the whole world create a bigger, stronger international community, better than the United Nations, and really helped try to prevent or end these genocides, then the world would be a much safer place, and because many countries are working together to make the world a better place, it would also build on trust between other countries and less countries would try to start wars.
Despite obvious warning signs, the early to mid-1990’s was filled with two of the most horrific genocides in human history. Both genocides: the hutu and tutsi massacre in Rwanda, and the Bosnian genocide were done under the nose of the United Nations. The first saw the Hutu’s of Rwanda kill around eight hundred thousand Tutsi people and sympathizers in 1994. Just a year later, the second genocide of this decade occurred when Bosnian Serb forces attempted to gain territory in what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina and mounted an attack in Srebrenica. This attack on Srebrenica saw nearly eight thousand Muslim Bosnians massacred and emptied into mass graves. As previously mentioned, both massacres were done with the presence of United Nations Peacekeeping Forces, yet in both instances they failed to be involved. The reasons for this failure are quite clear in both instances, yet the interesting thing lies in the accountability assigned in both cases.
“For nearly half a century – almost as long as the United Nations has been in existence – the General Assembly has recognized the need to establish such a court to prosecute and punish persons responsible for crimes such as genocide. Many thought… that the horrors of the Second World War – the camps, the cruelty, the exterminations, the Holocaust – could never happen again. And yet they have. In Cambodia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Rwanda. Our time – this decade even – has shown us that man’s capacity for evil knows no limits. Genocide… is now a word of our time, too, a heinous reality that calls for a historic response.
It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 (Wikipedia, General Assembly, par 1). Every human in this country deserves the right to be treated and looked at as a real human being, and this is what this declaration is for. There are literal words on paper to ensure the righteousness of mankind. The member states of the United Nations have pledged themselves to fulfil every aspect of this declaration (Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, page 1). Keeping this oath in mind, every country needs to follow its statements and shall not violate them towards any human being despite the
During WWII, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, there were several violations of human rights. Even after the war, mass human rights violations continued. Human rights are the freedoms every individual is entitled to, simply for being human, despite gender, religion, education level, financial status and societal standing. Our basic freedoms include the right to equality, life, liberty, safety, justice, travel, security, family, ownership, education, religion and culture. The United Nations is an international organization formed in 1945 that works on economic and social development programs, improving human rights and reducing global conflicts. Yet in South Africa apartheid took place, oppressing thousands of black Africans and in Rwanda where
The “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” was created, after the Holocaust, in 1948. The terrible unfair treatment that occurred, during the Holocaust, most likely helped to create many of the articles in the “Universal Declaration of Human RIghts.” Articles such as, Article 2 Article 3, Article 5, and Article 12 are some of the articles that would have been violated during the time of the Holocaust.
The Bosnian war in the early 1990s engendered ethnic cleansing, genocide, and other crimes against humanity. Under such context of international climate, nearly fifty years after the Nuremburg and Tokyo trials, the United Nations created the ad hoc international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (ICTs) to prosecute individuals suspected of committing war crimes regardless of their official positions. As the grounding and binding agreements, the Security Council Resolution 827 established the ICTY in 1993. It defines the main purpose of the tribunal as ‘prosecuting individuals responsible for serious violations of international
The document is under the 1815 Declaration Relative to the Universal Abolition of the Slave Trade. The Universal Declaration was introduced by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1948. Driven by the understandings of the previous world wars, the Universal Declaration was a first, having all the countries agree on a comprehensive statement of indisputable human rights . The Universal Declaration initiates by identifying that ‘the inherent dignity of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.’ It declares that human rights are widespread, letting all of society to know that people must be enjoyed by all individuals, no matter who they are or where they live .The
On May 25, 1993, U.N. Security Council Resolution 827 established an international tribunal charged with prosecuting violations of international law arising from the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. Not since the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, following World War II has an international court tried individuals accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTFY), which was established at The Hague, Netherlands, is widely seen as an important step toward the deterrence of crimes, the establishment of the firm rule of international law, and the promotion of world peace. Yet, from its inception, the tribunal
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948, provides in Article 10 that: everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.