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Human Rights Under United Nations

HISTORIC DOCUMENTS
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights—adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 1948—gave human rights a new international legal status. Building on precedents set by the British Magna Carta (1215), the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789), and the United States Bill of Rights (1791), the Universal Declaration also reflected the events of the 1930s and 1940s, particularly the Nazi Holocaust. Reports of Nazi atrocities shocked people around the world and gave momentum to an effort to codify human rights in international law.

One of the UN’s major goals under its charter is to promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all people, regardless of race, sex, language, or religion. But once again, the UN’s effectiveness in promoting its agenda is limited by its lack of authority over member nations.

After the atrocities committed by the Germans in the Holocaust, the slaughter of Jews that occurred during World War II, the UN adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration was adopted on December 10, 1948, which is now celebrated annually as Human Rights Day. It proclaims that “all human beings are born free and equal” and establishes basic rights for all people and norms for the behavior of governments in many areas. For example, it says that all people have the right to liberty, religious and political freedom, education, and economic well-being. It bans torture and states that all people have the right to participate in their governments. The declaration does not have the force of law, however, and seems to have had little visible effect on the UN’s member countries. Governments with poor human rights records, such as China, criticize the UN’s attempts to promote human rights, saying that such actions interfere with their internal affairs.

The UN operates a Commission on Human Rights, which monitors human rights abuses in countries, holds international meetings on human rights concerns, and handles complaints about human rights violations. In 1993 the General Assembly also created the position of High Commissioner for Human Rights. The commissioner oversees all the UN’s human rights programs, works to prevent human rights violations, and investigates human rights abuses. The commissioner also has the power to publicize abuses taking place in any country, but does not have the authority to stop them. However, most publicity about human rights abuses does not come from the UN but from rival countries or from nongovernmental organizations, such as Amnesty International.

The UN has also drawn up four international conventions (treaties) on human rights, which are legally binding but hard to enforce. The conventions address the problems of genocide, racial discrimination, civil and political rights, and economic and social rights. The treaties have been ratified by only about half of the world’s nations. The United States has only ratified the convention on genocide and has declined to ratify the others. Other countries have also refused to sign the conventions, citing concerns about the specific terms of the conventions and the loss of authority that such treaties imply.

During the Cold War, Western countries continually criticized nations under Soviet rule for their lack of respect for human rights, such as freedom of expression and fair elections. But the UN played a small role in these arguments because of the Soviet Union’s veto power, and because many other national governments did not guarantee human rights in their own domestic politics. The most important Cold War pact regarding human rights, the 1975 Helsinki Accords, a diplomatic agreement between 35 countries that encouraged human rights, was negotiated outside the UN framework.

Among the UN’s most visible recent activities regarding human rights are the two International Criminal Tribunals held to bring to justice those responsible for the horrible acts of violence committed during the civil wars in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The tribunal for crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia was established by the Security Council in 1993. The council initiated the Rwanda tribunal in 1994. They are the first such international war crimes trials since the Nürnberg Trials that followed World War II. Although the tribunals were established by the Security Council, they operate independently. The trials depend on contributions from countries to keep operating and are seriously hampered by financial shortages. A more serious problem is the inability to arrest suspects in countries or regions that do not support the tribunal’s efforts. See War Crimes Trials.

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