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Lesson 5

THE U.N. DECLARATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Learning Objectives

1. Pupil knows the meaning of human rights.

2. Pupil understands the U.N.Declaration on Human Rights.

3. Pupil learns the Civil and Political Rights.

4. Pupil learns the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

5. Pupil knows how human rights are protected.

6. Pupil learns the role of the U.N.O in protecting human rights.

WHAT ARE HUMAN RIGHTS?

All human beings are born equal. They are equal in dignity andrespect. Each individual has the right to live decently. Everyone hasthe right to work for a living. Individuals have the right to move freelyanywhere in the world. They have the right to speak in their language.They have the right to live according to their culture and tradition.These basic rights of mankind were described as natural rights inthe 17th century. They became legal and Rights of Man in the 18thCentury. They were gradually written into the national constitutions.The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of1789 and the American Bill of Rights of 1791 are certain examples.A number of independent states adopted these principles in the 19thcentury. Later social and economic rights of man also came to berecognized. These are now known as Human Rights.

The Rights of man were prevented or eliminated in several partsof the world due to several factors. During the 20th CenturyColonialism, Imperialism, the First World War, Rise of Totalitarianregimes, Nazism, Fascism, the Second World War and the policy of


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Apartheid led to gross violation of the basic or human rights ofmankind. They proved that Governments of some countries alonecouldnt protect the human rights of mankind. Therefore theInternational Body namely the United Nations Organisations took upthe matter.

The U.N. Declaration on Human Rights, 1948: The UnitedNations Organisation was established on 24 October 1945.Immediately after its establishment a Commission was set up to drawthe Human Rights under the Economic and Social Council. It is called

as the Commission on Human Rights. This Commission drafted theInternational Bill of Human Rights. It was adopted by the UnitedNations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. It is known as theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights. It is considered as aCommon standard of achievement for all peoples and nations ;.There are 30 Articles in this Declaration. Its preamble recognizes theinherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of allmembers of the human family. The Articles describe the HumanRights.

The Declaration expresses the Universality of Rights of Man.It recognizes the equality of human dignity. All human beings areentitled to the rights set out in this Declaration without discrimination of

any kind. The rights mentioned in the 30 articles are broadly of twokinds. They are (1) Civil and Political Rights, and (2)the Economic,Social and Cultural Rights.

The Civil and Political Rights: The civil and political rights areintimately related to modern democracy. The protection of these rightswould help the success of democracy. These rights are (1) the Rightsto life, liberty and security of person; (2) Freedom from slavery andtorture; (3) Equality before the law; (4) Protection against arbitraryarrest, detention or exile; (5) the Right to a fair trial; (6) the Right toown property; (7) the Right to political participation; (8) the Right tomarriage; (9) the Fundamental freedoms of thought, conscience andreligion, opinion and expression; (10) Freedom of peaceful assembly

and association; (11) the Right to take part in the government of his/her country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

The Indian Constitution contains many of these rights inPart III under Fundamental Rights.


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The Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Man does not livewith just freedom of speech and belief. He has to be free from fear andwant. Therefore the U.N.O. gave equal status to economic, social andcultural rights also. These rights include (1) the Right to work; (2) theRight to equal pay for equal work; (3) the Right to form and join tradeUnions; (4) the Right to an adequate standard of living; (5) the Right toeducation; and (6) the Right to participate freely in cultural life.

How Human Rights are protected?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights applies to all

countries. When this was adopted in 1948 there were 58 memberstates in the U.N.O. The content of the Declaration was elaborated in1966. The U.N.O adopted two Covenants in that year. They are (1)The International Covenant on Economic, Social and CulturalRights (ICESCR) and (2) the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights (ICCPR) and an Optional Protocol to it. They wereadopted on 16 December 1966. The Member States agreed to takemeasures for their implementation. By 1996 129 states out of 185 hadratified these covenants. These covenants are legally binding uponthe States parties to them. Therefore the State is the guarantor. It isthe protector of human rights. It is the task of all Member States of theU.N.O. to protect human rights in their nations. They have to promoteand encourage respect for human rights. They have to prevent the

violation of human rights. The member countries take severalmeasures to protect human rights. They follow certain procedures fortheir implementation. They send periodic reports to the U.N.O on theirimplementation and protection of human rights.

The international community views the threat to the peace andsecurity in the world caused by the violation of human rights seriously.The World Conference on Human Rights, held at Vienna in 1993considered it. This Conference adopted the Vienna Declaration andProgramme of Action. It stated that the promotion and protection ofall human rights is a legitimate concern of the internationalcommunity. In India, the Government of India passed an Act in 1993.According to it the National Human Rights Commission was set up

in 1993 at New Delhi. There are State Human Rights Commissionsin the states. They promote and protect the human rights of the peoplein India.

The Other Instruments of the U.N.O to protect Human Rights:There are a large number of conventions, declarations and


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recommendations adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on humanrights. They elaborate the rights set out in the Universal Declaration.They apply to all member states. But they do not have the same legalforce as the conventions which are legally binding. Some of them are(1) Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Genocide,1948; (2) Conventions on the Status of Refugees, 1951;(3) Convention on Political Rights of Women, 1952; (4) Conventionconcerning the Abolition of Forced Labour 1957; (5) Declaration ofthe Rights of the Child, 1959; (6) Declaration on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women, 1967; (7) Convention on the Rights

of the Child, 1989 (This came into force on 2 September, 1990. 187states had become parties to it on 31 May, 1996); and (8) theDeclaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women 1993.Thus the U.N.O has been playing a big role in the protection of humanrights at the world level.

Learning Outcome

1. The pupil will be able to define what is meant by human rights.

2. The pupil will be able to point out the civil and political rights.

3. The pupil will be able to mention the economic, social and cultural

rights.

4. The pupil will explain how human rights are protected.

5. The pupil will be able to point out the other instruments of the

U.N.O to protect human rights.

SELF-EVALUATION

I. Choose the Correct Answer

1. The Basic rights of mankind were described in the 17th centuryas

a) Human rights b) Natural rights

c) Civil rights d) Rights of Man.2. Natural rights became rights of man in the

a) 19th Century b) 18th Century

c) 16th Century d) 17th Century


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3. The U.N. Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on

a) 24 October 1944 b) 24 October 1945

c) 10 December 1996 d) 10 December 1948

4. Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution are in

a) Part III b) Part II

c) Part IV d) Part V

5. The World Conference on Human Rights at Vienna was held in

a) 1994 b) 1992

c) 1993 d) 1995

6. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in

a) 1989 b) 1990

c) 1987 d) 1988.

II. Fill in the Blanks

1. The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

was made in _______________

2. There are _______________ articles in Universal Declaration of

Human Rights.

3. The Member States send periodic reports to the_____________

4. The National Human Rights Commission was set up in India in

1993 at _______________

5. The _______________ has been playing a big role in the

protection of human rights.

III. Match the Following

1. American Bill of Rights 10 December 1948

2. The Universal DeclarationHuman Rights 1966

3. ICESCR 1791


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IV. Answer Briefly

1. How the basic rights of mankind described in the 17th century?

2. What led to the gross violation of human rights?

3. When did the U.N. General Assembly adopt the Declaration ofHuman Rights?

4. What are two broad kinds of rights in the Declaration of HumanRights?

5. Point out a few civil and political rights.6. Mention few economic, social and cultural rights.

7. Mention briefly how human rights are protected.

V. Answer in Detail

1. Write about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

2. Explain how human rights are protected?

3. List out the Civil and Political rights.

4. List out the Economic, Social and Cultural rights.

5. Mention some of the other Instruments on Human Rights.

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