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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has primary responsibility for United Nations activities in the field of human rights. The High Commissioner is mandated to respond to serious human rights violations and to take preventive measures. Human rights instruments reflect our most recent understanding of what human dignity requires. These instruments are likely to always lag behind, as they respond to challenges that have already been recognized, rather than those that remain so institutionalized and rooted in our societies that we still do not recognize them as rights and rights violations. In the Council of Europe, the organisation`s standardisation work aims to propose new legal standards to the Committee of Ministers in order to respond to social measures in order to solve problems arising in member states in relation to matters within their competence. Such measures may include proposing new legislation or adapting existing standards. For example, the procedures of the European Court of Human Rights are evolving to ensure its effectiveness, how provisions on the abolition of the death penalty have been adopted and how new treaty instruments such as the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings adopted in 2005 have emerged. In this sense, human rights instruments have always been revised and developed. Our understanding, jurisprudence and, most importantly, advocacy will continue to advance, attract and expand human rights. The fact that the provisions of human rights conventions and treaties are sometimes considered inferior to what we would sometimes expect should not be a reason to question what human rights represent as a hope for humanity. Human rights laws often fall short of what human rights defenders expect, but they also remain their most reliable support. Human rights laws force governments to do some things and prevent them from doing others.

Individuals also have responsibilities: when exercising their human rights, they must respect the rights of others. No government, group or individual has the right to do anything that violates the rights of others. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities marks a revolutionary change not only in its definition of persons with disabilities, but also in its recognition as equal subjects enjoying full and equal human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Treaty clarifies the application of rights to persons with disabilities and obliges States parties to provide reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities to enable them to effectively exercise their rights, for example to ensure their access to services and cultural life. Articles 1 and 13 of the ECHR are not included in the law. Indeed, the United Kingdom fulfilled these rights with the creation of the Human Rights Act. In practice, this means that Parliament will almost always ensure that new laws are compatible with the rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights (although Parliament is ultimately sovereign and can pass incompatible laws). The courts will also, to the extent possible, interpret laws in a manner consistent with the rights set forth in the Convention.

Human rights are inherent in all of us, regardless of nationality, gender, national or ethnic origin, skin colour, religion, language or any other status. Human rights are inalienable. They should not be taken with you, except in certain situations and in accordance with due process. For example, the right to liberty may be restricted if a person is convicted of a crime by a court. The importance of human rights is increasingly recognized through broader instruments providing such protection. This should be seen as a victory not only for human rights activists, but for people in general. A logical consequence of this success is the development of a large and complex body of human rights texts (instruments) and implementation procedures. Human rights instruments are generally divided into three broad categories: the geographical scope (regional or universal), the category of rights provided for and, where applicable, the specific category of persons or groups to whom protection is granted. At the United Nations level alone, there are more than a hundred human rights documents, and if we add them at different regional levels, their number continues to grow. We can`t look at all of these tools here, so this section will only look at those that are most relevant to the goals of human rights education in Compass: The law sets out your human rights in a series of “articles.” Each section deals with a different law. These all come from the ECHR and are commonly referred to as “the rights of the Convention”: Creating a “culture of human rights” worldwide Everyone and all peoples have the right to active, free and meaningful participation, contribution and enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social and cultural development through which human rights and fundamental freedoms can be realized. Human rights are rights that we have simply because we exist as human beings – they are not granted by any State.

These universal rights are inherent to each and every one of us, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language or any other status. They range from the most basic – the right to life – to those that make life worth living, such as the right to food, education, work, health and freedom. Question: What good is a simple “promise” to respect human rights standards if it is not backed up by legal mechanisms? Is it better than nothing? The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the central focal point for United Nations human rights activities. It serves as the secretariat for the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies (committees of experts that monitor compliance with treaties) and other United Nations human rights bodies. It also carries out field activities in the field of human rights. Its main protection is provided at the UN level by the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the most widely ratified convention (not just ratified by the United States and Somalia). The four fundamental principles of the Convention are: non-discrimination; the obligation to safeguard the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. At the African level, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child sets out the fundamental rights of the child, taking into account the unique factors of the continent`s situation. It entered into force in 1999. The Covenant on the Rights of the Child in Islam was adopted by the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 2004.

The ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children was inaugurated in April 2010. The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse entered into force on 1 July 2010. This Convention is the first instrument to criminalize the various forms of sexual abuse of children, including those committed in the home or in the family. All human rights are indivisible and interdependent. This means that one set of rights cannot be fully utilized without the other. Progress in the area of civil and political rights, for example, facilitates the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. Similarly, the violation of economic, social and cultural rights can have a negative impact on many other rights. For example, Article 1 states that States must guarantee the rights of the Convention within their own jurisdiction.