Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Human Rights

Legal Instruments

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

• The United Nations General Assembly adopted the UDHR in 1948.
• It outlines fundamental human rights and freedoms for universal protection.
• The UDHR consists of a preamble and 30 articles.
• Equality, dignity, and non-discrimination are emphasized.

UDHR Key Points

• The preamble recognizes the inherent dignity and equal rights of all people as the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace.
• Articles 1-2 establish universal equality, freedom, and non-discrimination.
• Articles 3-11 protect civil and political rights like the right to life, liberty, fair trials, and protection from torture.
• Articles 12-17 safeguard individual freedoms like privacy, nationality, and property rights.
• Articles 18-21 ensure freedom of thought, religion, expression, assembly, and participation in government.
• Articles 22-27 promote economic, social, and cultural rights, such as work, education, and healthcare.
• Articles 28-30 emphasize the right to a social and international order that upholds freedoms, with responsibilities to the community.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

• The United Nations General Assembly adopted the ICCPR in 1966.
• It legally binds signatory states to uphold civil and political rights.
• A preamble and 53 articles are divided into six parts.

ICCPR Key Points

• The preamble affirms the principles of human dignity, equality, and freedom.
• Part I (Article 1) recognizes the right of all peoples to self-determination and control over their resources.
• Part II (Articles 2-5) requires states to respect and enforce the rights of individuals without discrimination.
• Part III (Articles 6-27) lists fundamental civil and political rights.
• Article 6 protects the right to life, guarding against the arbitrary deprivation of life.
• Articles 7-8 ensure freedom from torture and slavery, prohibiting cruel treatment and forced labor.
• Articles 9-14 ensure the right to liberty and fair trial, protecting against arbitrary detention. Due process is guaranteed.
• Articles 12-19 guarantee freedom of movement, thought, religion, and expression.
• Articles 21-25 protect the right to peaceful assembly, association, and political participation.
• Article 27 protects the rights of minorities, including their cultural, religious, and linguistic rights.
• Part IV (Articles 28-45) establishes the Human Rights Committee that is responsible for monitoring compliance.
• Part V (Articles 46-47) clarifies that the Covenant does not interfere with the UN Charter's existing rights.
• Part VI (Articles 48-53) outlines procedures for ratification and enforcement.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

• The United Nations General Assembly adopted the ICESCR in 1966.
• It legally binds states to protect and promote economic, social, and cultural rights.
• A preamble and 31 articles are divided into five parts.

ICESCR Key Points

• The preamble recognizes that human dignity and freedom are linked to economic, social, and cultural rights.
• Part I (Article 1) affirms the right to self-determination, including control over natural resources.
• Part II (Articles 2-5) requires states to take progressive steps to realize these rights without discrimination.
• Part III (Articles 6-15) lists key economic, social, and cultural rights.
• Article 6 ensures the right to work, providing the opportunity to earn a living under fair conditions.
• Article 7 ensures just and favorable work conditions, including fair wages, safe workplaces, and equal opportunities.
• Article 8 ensures the right to form trade unions, which includes the right to strike.
• Article 9 ensures the right to social security.
• Article 10 ensures the protection of family and children.
• Article 11 ensures the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, and continuous improvement of living conditions.
• Article 12 ensures the right to health, including access to medical care, disease prevention, and improved public health.
• Articles 13-14 relate to the right to education, referring to free and compulsory primary education, and access to secondary and higher education.
• Article 15 ensures the right to participate in cultural life and benefit from scientific progress.
• Part IV (Articles 16-25) establishes reporting requirements to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) for monitoring implementation.
• Part V (Articles 26-31) covers administrative matters, ratification, and amendments.

Foundations of Human Rights

UN – What Are Human Rights?

• Human rights are rights all people have simply because of their existence.
• These rights exist regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status.
• These rights range from the right to life, to the right to food, education, work, health, and liberty.
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was the first legal document to set out universal fundamental human rights.
• The UDHR was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948.
• UDHR is the foundation of international human rights law.
• Its 30 articles provide the principles of current and future human rights conventions, treaties and other legal instruments.
• The UDHR, along with the ICCPR and the ICESCR, make up the International Bill of Rights.
• Human rights are universal and inalienable, entitling everyone equally to their human rights.
• Human rights are inalienable, not to be taken away except in specific situations and according to due process.
• All human rights are indivisible and interdependent; one set of rights cannot be fully enjoyed without the other.
• The first two articles of UDHR ensure non-discrimination and equality.
• Non-discrimination is a principal present in all major human rights treaties.

Mearsheimer - Political Liberalism

• John Mearsheimer analyzes two key variants of political liberalism: modus vivendi liberalism and progressive liberalism.

Key Points:

• Both variants of liberalism emphasize individualism, inalienable rights, and tolerance.
• They acknowledge limits on human reasoning in determining universal truths about the good life.
• The state plays a crucial role in maintaining public order.

Differences Between Modus Vivendi and Progressive Liberalism

• Modus Vivendi Liberalism prioritizes individual freedom from government interference (e.g., freedom of the press, property rights).
• It opposes social engineering and government-led equal opportunity efforts.
• It advocates a minimal state that mainly ensures law and order.
• Progressive Liberalism expands rights to include social and economic equality, requiring state intervention.
• It supports policies that redistribute resources for equal opportunity (e.g., education, healthcare).
• Believes in the state's ability to engineer social progress.

Why Progressive Liberalism Triumphed:

• Modern economic, social, and political structures require state intervention.
• Industrialization, globalization, and nationalism necessitate regulation and welfare policies.
• Wars and state-building efforts reinforced the role of government in managing society.

The State's Role in Liberalism:

• A strong state is necessary for order.
• Liberals are wary of excessive state power.
• Checks and balances are used to limit government overreach.
• The state balances freedom with the need for intervention in social and economic issues.

Liberalism's Contradictions include the following:

• Tolerance Paradox: Liberals claim to be tolerant but often become intolerant of anti-liberal views.
• Universalism vs. Particularism: Liberalism promotes universal rights, yet societies remain divided over the definition of the "good life."
• Progressive liberalism has become dominant because modern states function due to the laissez-faire approach of modus vivendi liberalism.
• Interventionist policies are essential in contemporary societies.
• Tensions remain between liberty, equality, and state power within liberal democracies.

Dembour – What are Human Rights?

• Marie-Bénédicte Dembour explores the concept of human rights by identifying four distinct schools of thought: Natural, Deliberative, Protest, and Discourse.
• These schools offer different perspectives on the origins, purpose, and implementation of human rights.
• Despite the widespread ассерtапсе of human rights, there is no singular definition or agreement on what constitutes human rights.
• Instead, scholars have approached the subject from different perspectives.
• Natural School: Human rights are inherent and exist independently of social recognition.
• Deliberative School: Human rights are political agreements established through rational discourse.
• Protest School: Human rights are claims made to fight against oppression.
• Discourse School: Human rights exist only because people talk about them, and their universal application is questionable.

The Natural School

• Definition: Human rights are inherent and derive from "nature," which may refer to God, the universe, reason, or another transcendental source.
• Core Belief: Every human has rights simply by being human.
• Rights are negative in nature, meaning they often take the form of prohibitions (e.g., "do not torture").
• Universality is absolute—human rights exist even if they are not recognized by law.
• Positive laws should reflect natural human rights but do not create them.
• Criticism: Struggles to prove the existence of human rights outside of legal frameworks.

The Deliberative School

• Definition: Human rights emerge from societal agreements and function as political values in liberal societies.
• Core Belief: Human rights are not universal by nature but can become so through broad consensus.
• Rights are created through democratic processes and embedded in constitutional law.
• Focuses on procedural justice, ensuring fair deliberation rather than enforcing substantive rights.
• Sees human rights law as the only legitimate form of human rights.
• Criticism: It relies too heavily on societal agreement, making human rights contingent on majority approval.

The Protest School

• Definition: Human rights are claims made by the oppressed to challenge injustice.
• Core Belief: Rights are tool for struggle rather than entitlements.
• Concerned with redressing inequalities rather than debating philosophical foundations.
• Skeptical of human rights law, as it is often co-opted by elites.
• Advocates perpetual activism because injustice always exists.
• Criticism: Lacks a clear philosophical foundation for rights and risks being too idealistic.

The Discourse School

• Definition: Human rights are social constructs that exist only because people discuss them.
• Core Belief: Human rights are neither natural nor essential; they are just one way of articulating ethical claims.
• Critical of human rights' Western origins and imperialistic tendencies.
• Views human rights as a dominant political language rather than a solution to global issues.
• Believes alternative frameworks for justice and emancipation should be explored.
• Criticism: Its nihilistic approach provides no alternative framework for protecting human dignity.

Donnelly & Whelan – Theories of Human Rigths

• This explores human rights in international politics, touching on their concept, justification, and role, as well as philosophical theories, sovereignty, and political realism.
• Human rights are universal, inalienable, and equal, belonging to all individuals simply for being human.
• Human rights impose duties on others and are essential when national protections fail.
• Rooted in human dignity, some theories link human rights to basic human needs, but they ultimately aim to create a world where dignity is respected.
• Civil-political and economic-social rights are deeply connected, both requiring state responsibility, challenging the distinction between "negative" and "positive" rights.
• Traditional state sovereignty resisted external interference, but international law now holds states accountable for human rights violations.

Models of International Human Rights:

• The Statist Model considers human rights primarily a domestic issue.
• The Cosmopolitan Model focuses on individuals, not states, justifying global intervention.
• The Internationalist Model is a middle ground where states cooperate on human rights enforcement.
• Political realists prioritize power and security over morality.
• Human rights can serve strategic interests by promoting stability and legitimacy.
• Human rights provide a moral and legal foundation in global politics, despite tensions with state sovereignty and realism.
• Enforcement and universality remain key challenges.
• Dembour suggests human rights are not universal truths but socially constructed concepts, interpreted differently depending on one's perspective.

Realist Perspective

• Realists see human rights as tools used by powerful states to advance their national interests rather than universal moral principles.
• This reduces human rights to power politics and ignores their potential to empower the oppressed.
• It exposes states' hypocrisy in selectively using human rights rhetoric.

Utilitarian Perspective

• Utilitarians prioritize the greatest good for the greatest number, which can justify sacrificing individual rights for collective welfare.
• It clashes with protecting individuals from harm, even if it benefits the majority and overlooks marginalized groups' suffering.

Marxist Perspective

• Marxists see human rights as bourgeois constructs designed to maintain capitalist exploitation.
• They focus on economic inequality and structural oppression.
• Dembour might critique Marxists for dismissing human rights, rather than seeking to reform them to serve collective liberation.

Particularist Perspective

• Particularists argue that human rights are culturally specific and not universally applicable.
• Dembour's discourse school agrees, acknowledging human rights are social constructs shaped by cultural contexts.
• Excessive cultural relativism risks justifying human rights abuses in the name of respecting local traditions.

Feminist Perspective

• Feminists criticize traditional human rights for focusing on public, civil, and political rights while neglecting issues like domestic violence and reproductive rights.
• Dembour's protest school emphasizes marginalized voices and might highlight feminist challenges to the male-dominated discourse of human rights.

Post-Colonial Perspective

• Post-colonial scholars argue that human rights are rooted in Western liberalism and have been used to justify colonialism and neo-imperialism.
• Dembour's discourse school resonates, emphasizing that human rights are culturally and historically constructed. Dismissing altogether may abandon their potential as tools for resisting oppression.

Donnell & Whelan – Relative Universality of Human Rights

• Human rights are neither fully universal nor completely relative—they exhibit relative universality.
• This concept balances the standardization of human rights globally with variations in their cultural acceptance, justification, and implementation.
• International Legal Universality suggests that Human rights are universally recognized in international law through core treaties, boasting an 89% ratification rate on average.
• Overlapping Consensus Universality suggests that different worldviews converge on supporting human rights for varied reasons based on John Rawls' concept.
• Functional Universality suggests that threat from modern markets and states, initially in Europe, has spurred emergence of Human rights
• Human rights are a recent development, even in the West, absent in ancient or medieval societies for Historical and Anthropological Relativity.
• Cultural Relativism says that Human rights are not tied to any culture, and Cultures can reinterpret traditions to support them.
• Universal Rights, Diverse Practices show While human rights concepts are universal, their implementation can vary legitimately due to cultural, historical, and social differences.
• Examples include variations in electoral systems or social welfare policies.
• Advocating human rights should not impose one culture's values on others.
• Universal standards help hold powerful states accountable.
• This analysis shows Human rights empower individuals and groups to pursue dignity and justice.
• Their universality is rooted in contemporary global conditions, while their specific forms are shaped by local contexts.

Culture is Destiny

• This conversation between Fareed Zakaria and Lee Kuan Yew discusses culture's role in shaping political and economic systems.
• Lee Kuan Yew transformed Singapore into a global economic hub with a "soft" authoritarian regime.
• He emphasizes order, discipline, and government-led development.
• He critiques American democracy for prioritizing individual freedoms at the cost of societal order.
• He believes the expansion of rights without responsibility weakens society.
• East Asian cultures prioritize family, discipline, and social harmony over Western individualism.
• He credits thrift, hard work, and respect for learning for East Asia's economic success.
• Lee questions whether Western-style democracy is suitable for all societies and proposes alternative voting systems.
• He highlights the need for controlled modernization, where economic progress is pursued without sacrificing social cohesion.
• He warns against the risks of Westernizing too quickly and predicts China's rise as a major global power.
• He stresses international stability.
• He believes Japan should not become militarized, and the U.S. should remain engaged in Asia to maintain balance.
• Lee argues that cultural factors, such as values and work ethic, determine national prosperity.

Case Studies:

• The Magna Carta, signed in 1215, was created due to tensions between King John and rebellious Barons, with heavy taxation and arbitrary rule.
• The following are key points of The Magna Carta: Limitation of royal power, the protection of barons' rights and Fair Trial and Justice
• England's 1689 English Bill of Rights was a key document for modern democracy and constitutional monarchy, which overthrew William III and Mary II.
• Key points of The English Bill of Rights include: Limitation of Monarchical, Parliamentary Supremacy, Freedom of Speech, protection of citizens rights and protestant succession.
• The U. S. Declaration of Independence was approved by the second continental congress in Philadelphia Pa. Declaration of Independence- formally declares that the colonies are free and independent states, no longer subject to British authority.
• The U.S Bill of Rights, which was written primarily by James Madison, the bill included: Freedom of Speech, Religion, Press, Assembly, and Petition, Right to bear arms, protection against unreasonable searches
• The Key principle of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789): Equality. The U.S was a marked shift from democracy of France
• The Civil Rights movement which sought to end racial segregation and discrimination after the abolition of slavery in 1865. The Jim crow laws reinforced the hierarchy.

Posner – The History of International Human Rights Law:

• This traces human rights law, examining philosophical/challenges. Posner explores human rights evolution from moral obligations to global framework protecting individuals from government abuses.

Pre-World War II: The origins of Human rights.

• Ancient societies recognized obligations, but empathy toward strangers was limited.
• Christian introduced idea of universal morality, asserting harming anyone offends God.
• Thinkers like John Locke argued that rights are inherent in nature, not granted by governments.
• U.S Declaration of Independence argued that the government must respect all peoples' rights.
• 19th century develop the welfare of citizens.

Ositynski - The Historical Development of Human Rights

• Evolution human rights: freedom; government-international Key milestones: Universal Declaration
• Built six core ideas: limited govt; human rights govt abuse; citizens can participate; equal to all - early human rights political
• A charter (1945): included for the human rights of UN though major.
• Un began rights of monitor focused initially on apartheid in Africa.
• The charter was the general assembly initiatives, which were designed to promote

Postwar Peace and Collective Security:

• The Atlantic Charter signed In 1941, was a pivotal statement of of what the Allied countries.
• The UN charter was designed to improve the dignity and human rights of all individuals.
• The UN aimed to secure freedom and solve global humanitarian issues.
• The Genocide Convention of 1948 sought to clarify the definition of genocide.
• The Convention included the right to impose appropriate damages.

Explore the core principles of the UDHR, adopted by the UN in 1948. Learn about its emphasis on equality, dignity, and non-discrimination. Understand the key articles protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms.