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Human rights are the rights that everyone has
just by being born.
Do you know what your rights are?
Get in the know…
Although the idea of human rights has been around for a long time,
it really only started to get a lot of attention internationally
after the Second World War. Afraid that what happened in Nazi Germany
could happen again at anytime, the governments of the world joined
together to form the United Nations (UN). The UN’s main purpose
was to strengthen international peace; prevent future conflicts;
and make sure that no one would ever be denied the right to life,
freedom, food, shelter, or nationality.
On December 10, 1948, the UN’s Commission on Human Rights
finished the document known as the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) The UDHR not only explains,
within its pages, our fundamental human rights, but also makes how
governments treat their citizens an issue of international concern.
The UN Commission on Human Rights also drafted two treaties: the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR). 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. Together with the
Universal Declaration, all three are known as the International
Bill of Human Rights. The UN has also adopted more than 20 principal
treaties that further describe human rights. The Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees are just two of the conventions that deal with human right’s
issues like torture, genocide, and the protection of vulnerable
persons (women, children, refugees…).
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