HOW ARE HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTED? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Human rights are protected through various international organizations or laws of a universal nature. These rights are privileges that all individuals have, regardless of skin color, nationality, sex, ethnic origin, religion or social stratum to which they belong.

In 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations presented the Declaration of Human Rights; a list of rights inherent in humans, among which stand out as basic: the right to life, equality and freedom.

These rights are neither earned nor denied to the subject since they are intrinsically linked to the condition of being a person. However, most of these jurisprudence are violated by other individuals, nations or governments.

Although there are organizations that defend and promote these legalities, such as the United Nations.

Likewise, there are a series of national and international regulations that are dedicated to the protection of these rights, such as the aforementioned Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or on the other hand, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Covenant International Civil and Political Rights, In general, it should be noted that any individual can promote the protection of these rights by participating as an activist or helping in a non-governmental organization.

Ways to protect human rights

-Action of the United Nations Organization

The United Nations (UN) is an international entity, founded in 1945, after the Second World War. It is made up of 193 member states.

The mission of this organization is contained in the Charter of the United Nations. Due to its international character, the UN has the capacity to intervene in matters concerning societies around the world, such as the peace and security of nations, economic development, disarmament, human rights, among others.

This organization delegates its functions to a group of entities. Therefore, in the matter of human rights, the UN presents different sub-organizations in charge of protecting and promoting the rights of all individuals. These organs are:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). This body depends on the UN General Secretariat and was created in 1993 in order to protect and promote the rights indicated in the Charter of the United Nations and other international treaties related to human rights.

-The Human Rights Council

This council was created in 2006 to replace the Human Rights Commission and it is an intergovernmental body in charge of evaluating and monitoring nations in matters of human rights.

-Human rights bodies

They are committees of independent experts in charge of monitoring compliance with international human rights treaties.

-UN Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide

His special advisers are charged with raising awareness of genocide, its causes and consequences throughout the world. In the same way, the representatives can mobilize the competent authorities when they consider that there is a danger of genocide.

-Laws that protect human rights

The main legal instruments on human rights and that constitute the International Bill of Human Rights are:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

However, the protection of human rights is not the sole task of the UN; All nations have a duty to guarantee the human rights of an individual.

That is why a series of laws have been implemented that protect these basic rights, such as international human rights laws, humanitarian intervention laws and refugee laws.

These laws are intended to safeguard the integrity of human beings and ensure their political, social and economic stability.

Other ways to protect human rights

Just as nations have a duty to protect human rights, individuals can also participate in protecting these rights. In this sense, some ways to protect human rights at the regional and local level are:

1-Participate in local events sponsored by organizations that defend human rights; in this way, the actions of multiple individuals will converge.

2-Sign or create petitions that aim to create laws that defend human rights at the local, regional or national level.

3-If you know of a case of human rights violation, report it to the competent authorities.

On the other hand, to report a case of violation of human rights, the following must be known:

• The article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was or is being violated.
• The facts related to the violation in question (in chronological order, if possible).
• The names of the victim and the perpetrator.

Education

Education regarding human rights must be part of the school education of all individuals in order to train people capable of defending their own rights and recognizing the violations that may occur around them.

Favor the vulnerable population

War victims, people with physical and / or cognitive commitments, Aboriginal people, immigrants, women, children, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are more likely to have their rights violated. These people fall under what are called minority groups.

Therefore, they must receive additional support, so as to increase their capacity to defend themselves and advocate for themselves.

References

1. Maiese, Michelle (2004). What are Human Rights? Retrieved on March 8, 2017, from: beyondintractability.org.
2. Protecting Human Rights. Retrieved on March 8, 2017, from: usaid.gov.
3. Protect Human Rights. Retrieved on March 8, 2017, from: un.org.
4. How to Take Steps to Protect Human Rights. Retrieved on March 8, 2017, from: wikihow.com.
5. 10 Ways to Defend Human Rights on International Human Rights Day. Retrieved on March 8, 2017, from: earthrights.org.
6. How to defend human rights in the Trump era. Retrieved on March 8, 2017, from: bostonglobe.com.
7. Defending Human Rights. Retrieved on March 8, 2017, from: amnesty.org.