Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Human rights are held by all persons equally,
universally, and forever.

Human rights are inalienable : you cannot lose
these rights any more than you can cease being
a human being.

Human rights are indivisible: you cannot be
denied a right because it is "less important" or
"non-essential." Human rights are
interdependent : all human rights are part of
a complementary framework. For example,
your ability to participate in your government
is directly affected by your right to express
yourself, to get an education, and even to
obtain the necessities of life.

Another definition for human rights is those
basic standards without which people cannot
live in dignity. To violate someone’s human
rights is to treat that person as though she or
he were not a human being. To advocate
human rights is to demand that the human
dignity of all people be respected.

In claiming these human rights, everyone also
accepts the responsibility not to infringe on
the rights of others and to support those
whose rights are abused or denied.

Human Rights as Inspiration and
Empowerment

Human rights are both inspirational and
practical. Human rights principles hold up the
vision of a free, just, and peaceful world and
set minimum standards for how individuals
and institutions everywhere should treat
people. Human rights also empower people
with a framework for action when those
minimum standards are not met, for people
still have human rights even if the laws or
those in power do not recognize or protect
them.

We experience our human rights every day in
the United States when we worship according
to our belief, or choose not to worship at all;
when we debate and criticize government
policies; when we join a trade union; when we
travel to other parts of the country or
overseas. Although we usually take these
actions for granted, people both here and in
other countries do not enjoy all these liberties
equally. Human rights violations also occur
everyday in this country when a parent abuses
a child, when a family is homeless, when a
school provides inadequate education, when
women are paid less than men, or when one
person steals from another.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Rights for all members of the human family
were first articulated in 1948 in the United
Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR). Following the horrific experiences of
the Holocaust and World War II, and amid the
grinding poverty of much of the world’s
population, many people sought to create a
document that would capture the hopes,
aspirations, and protections to which every
person in the world was entitled and ensure
that the future of humankind would be
different. See Part V, "Appendices," for the
complete text and a simplified version of the
UDHR.

The 30 articles of the Declaration together
form a comprehensive statement covering
economic, social, cultural, political, and civil
rights. The document is both universal (it
applies to all people everywhere) and
indivisible (all rights are equally important to
the full realization of one’s humanity). A
declaration , however, is not a treaty and lacks
any enforcement provisions. Rather it is a
statement of intent, a set of principles to
which United Nations member states commit
themselves in an effort to provide all people a
life of human dignity.

Over the past 50 years the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights has acquired the
status of customary international law
because most states treat it as though it were
law. However, governments have not applied
this customary law equally. Socialist and
communist countries of Eastern Europe, Latin
America, and Asia have emphasized social
welfare rights, such as education, jobs, and
health care, but often have limited the political
rights of their citizens. The United States has
focused on political and civil rights and has
advocated strongly against regimes that
torture, deny religious freedom, or persecute
minorities. On the other hand, the US
government rarely recognizes health care,
homelessness, environmental pollution, and
other social and economic concerns as human
rights issues, especially within its own borders.