Human Rights Defined

What are your human rights? Let’s start with some basic human rights definitions:

Human: noun
A member of the Homo sapiens species; a man, woman or child; a person.

Rights: noun
Things to which you are entitled or allowed; freedoms that are guaranteed.

Human Rights: noun

The rights you have simply because you are human.

If you were to ask people in the street, “What are human rights?” you would get many different answers.
They would tell you the rights they know about, but very few people know all their rights.

As covered in the definitions above, a right is a freedom of some kind. It is something to which you are
entitled by virtue of being human.

Human rights are based on the principle of respect for the individual. Their fundamental assumption is
that each person is a moral and rational being who deserves to be treated with dignity. They are called
human rights because they are universal. Whereas nations or specialized groups enjoy specific rights that
apply only to them, human rights are the rights to which everyone is entitled—no matter who they are or
where they live—simply because they are alive.

Yet many people, when asked to name their rights, will list only freedom of speech and belief and
perhaps one or two others. There is no question these are important rights, but the full scope of human
rights is very broad. They mean choice and opportunity. They mean the freedom to obtain a job, adopt a
career, select a partner of one’s choice and raise children. They include the right to travel widely and the
right to work gainfully without harassment, abuse and threat of arbitrary dismissal. They even embrace
the right to leisure.

In ages past, there were no human rights. Then the idea emerged that people should have certain
freedoms. And that idea, in the wake of World War II, resulted finally in the document called the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the thirty rights to which all people are entitled.

A Brief History of
Human Rights

The Cyrus Cylinder (539 B.C.)

The decrees Cyrus made on human rights were inscribed in the Akkadian language on a baked-clay
cylinder.
Cyrus the Great, the first king of Persia, freed the slaves of Babylon, 539 B.C.
In 539 B.C., the armies of Cyrus the Great, the first king of ancient Persia, conquered the city of Babylon.
But it was his next actions that marked a major advance for Man. He freed the slaves, declared that all
people had the right to choose their own religion, and established racial equality. These and other decrees
were recorded on a baked-clay cylinder in the Akkadian language with cuneiform script.

Known today as the Cyrus Cylinder, this ancient record has now been recognized as the world’s first
charter of human rights. It is translated into all six official languages of the United Nations and its
provisions parallel the first four Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Spread of Human Rights

From Babylon, the idea of human rights spread quickly to India, Greece and eventually Rome. There the
concept of “natural law” arose, in observation of the fact that people tended to follow certain unwritten
laws in the course of life, and Roman law was based on rational ideas derived from the nature of things.

Documents asserting individual rights, such as the Magna Carta (1215), the Petition of Right (1628), the
US Constitution (1787), the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789), and the
US Bill of Rights (1791) are the written precursors to many of today’s human rights documents.

The Magna Carta (1215)

Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” signed by the King of England in 1215, was a turning point in human
rights.

The Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” was arguably the most significant early influence on the extensive
historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today in the English-speaking world.

In 1215, after King John of England violated a number of ancient laws and customs by which England
had been governed, his subjects forced him to sign the Magna Carta, which enumerates what later came to
be thought of as human rights. Among them was the right of the church to be free from governmental
interference, the rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property and to be protected from excessive
taxes. It established the right of widows who owned property to choose not to remarry, and established
principles of due process and equality before the law. It also contained provisions forbidding bribery and
official misconduct.

Widely viewed as one of the most important legal documents in the development of modern democracy,
the Magna Carta was a crucial turning point in the struggle to establish freedom.

Petition of Right (1628)

In 1628 the English Parliament sent this statement of civil liberties to King Charles I.
The next recorded milestone in the development of human rights was the Petition of Right, produced in
1628 by the English Parliament and sent to Charles I as a statement of civil liberties. Refusal by
Parliament to finance the king’s unpopular foreign policy had caused his government to exact forced
loans and to quarter troops in subjects’ houses as an economy measure. Arbitrary arrest and imprisonment
for opposing these policies had produced in Parliament a violent hostility to Charles and to George
Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham. The Petition of Right, initiated by Sir Edward Coke, was based upon
earlier statutes and charters and asserted four principles: (1) No taxes may be levied without consent of
Parliament, (2) No subject may be imprisoned without cause shown (reaffirmation of the right of habeas
corpus), (3) No soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry, and (4) Martial law may not be used in time
of peace.

United States Declaration of Independence (1776)

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson penned the American Declaration of Independence.

On July 4, 1776, the United States Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. Its primary
author, Thomas Jefferson, wrote the Declaration as a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on
July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American
Revolutionary War, and as a statement announcing that the thirteen American Colonies were no longer a
part of the British Empire. Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. It was
initially published as a printed broadsheet that was widely distributed and read to the public.
Philosophically, the Declaration stressed two themes: individual rights and the right of revolution. These
ideas became widely held by Americans and spread internationally as well, influencing in particular the
French Revolution.

The Constitution of the United States of America (1787) and Bill of Rights (1791)

The Bill of Rights of the US Constitution protects basic freedoms of United States citizens.

Written during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, the Constitution of the United States of America is
the fundamental law of the US federal system of government and the landmark document of the Western
world. It is the oldest written national constitution in use and defines the principal organs of government
and their jurisdictions and the basic rights of citizens.

The first ten amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of Rights—came into effect on December 15,
1791, limiting the powers of the federal government of the United States and protecting the rights of all
citizens, residents and visitors in American territory.

The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear arms, the
freedom of assembly and the freedom to petition. It also prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, cruel
and unusual punishment and compelled self-incrimination. Among the legal protections it affords, the Bill
of Rights prohibits Congress from making any law respecting establishment of religion and prohibits the
federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law. In
federal criminal cases it requires indictment by a grand jury for any capital offense, or infamous crime,
guarantees a speedy public trial with an impartial jury in the district in which the crime occurred, and
prohibits double jeopardy.

Human Rights

Following the French Revolution in 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen granted
specific freedoms from oppression, as an “expression of the general will.”

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)

In 1789 the people of France brought about the abolishment of the absolute monarchy and set the stage
for the establishment of the first French Republic. Just six weeks after the storming of the Bastille, and
barely three weeks after the abolition of feudalism, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen (French: La Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen) was adopted by the National
Constituent Assembly as the first step toward writing a constitution for the Republic of France.

The Declaration proclaims that all citizens are to be guaranteed the rights of “liberty, property, security,
and resistance to oppression.” It argues that the need for law derives from the fact that “...the exercise of
the natural rights of each man has only those borders which assure other members of the society the
enjoyment of these same rights.” Thus, the Declaration sees law as an “expression of the general will,“
intended to promote this equality of rights and to forbid “only actions harmful to the society.”

The First Geneva Convention (1864)

The original document from the first Geneva Convention in 1864 provided for care to wounded soldiers.

In 1864, sixteen European countries and several American states attended a conference in Geneva, at the
invitation of the Swiss Federal Council, on the initiative of the Geneva Committee. The diplomatic
conference was held for the purpose of adopting a convention for the treatment of wounded soldiers in
combat.

The main principles laid down in the Convention and maintained by the later Geneva Conventions
provided for the obligation to extend care without discrimination to wounded and sick military personnel
and respect for and marking of medical personnel transports and equipment with the distinctive sign of
the red cross on a white background.

The United Nations (1945)

Fifty nations met in San Francisco in 1945 and formed the United Nations to protect and promote peace.

World War II had raged from 1939 to 1945, and as the end drew near, cities throughout Europe and Asia
lay in smoldering ruins. Millions of people were dead, millions more were homeless or starving. Russian
forces were closing in on the remnants of German resistance in Germany’s bombed-out capital of Berlin.
In the Pacific, US Marines were still battling entrenched Japanese forces on such islands as Okinawa.

In April 1945, delegates from fifty countries met in San Francisco full of optimism and hope. The goal of
the United Nations Conference on International Organization was to fashion an international body to
promote peace and prevent future wars. The ideals of the organization were stated in the preamble to its
proposed charter: “We the peoples of the United Nations are determined to save succeeding generations
from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.”

The Charter of the new United Nations organization went into effect on October 24, 1945, a date that is
celebrated each year as United Nations Day.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has inspired a number of other human rights laws and
treaties throughout the world.

By 1948, the United Nations’ new Human Rights Commission had captured the world’s attention. Under
the dynamic chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt—President Franklin Roosevelt’s widow, a human rights
champion in her own right and the United States delegate to the UN—the Commission set out to draft the
document that became the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Roosevelt, credited with its
inspiration, referred to the Declaration as the international Magna Carta for all mankind. It was adopted
by the United Nations on December 10, 1948.

In its preamble and in Article 1, the Declaration unequivocally proclaims the inherent rights of all human
beings: “Disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged
the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of
speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the
common people...All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

The Member States of the United Nations pledged to work together to promote the thirty Articles of
human rights that, for the first time in history, had been assembled and codified into a single document. In
consequence, many of these rights, in various forms, are today part of the constitutional laws of
democratic nations.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

AN INTRODUCTION

On October 24, 1945, in the aftermath of World War II, the United Nations came into being as an
intergovernmental organization, with the purpose of saving future generations from the devastation of
international conflict.
United Nations representatives from all regions of the world formally adopted the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights on December 10, 1948.

The Charter of the United Nations established six principal bodies, including the General Assembly, the
Security Council, the International Court of Justice, and in relation to human rights, an Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC).

The UN Charter empowered ECOSOC to establish “commissions in economic and social fields and for
the promotion of human rights….” One of these was the United Nations Human Rights Commission,
which, under the chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt, saw to the creation of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.

The Declaration was drafted by representatives of all regions of the world and encompassed all legal
traditions. Formally adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, it is the most universal human
rights document in existence, delineating the thirty fundamental rights that form the basis for a
democratic society.

Following this historic act, the Assembly called upon all Member Countries to publicize the text of the
Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and
other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.”

Today, the Declaration is a living document that has been accepted as a contract between a government
and its people throughout the world. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it is the most
translated document in the world.

International Human
Rights Law

By 1948, the United Nations’ new Human Rights Commission had captured the attention of the world.
Under the dynamic chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt—President Franklin Roosevelt’s widow, a human
rights champion in her own right and the United States delegate to the UN—the Commission set out to
draft the document that became the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Roosevelt, credited with its
inspiration, referred to the Declaration as the “international Magna Carta for all mankind.” It was adopted
by the United Nations on December 10, 1948.

In its preamble and in Article 1, the Declaration unequivocally proclaims the inherent rights of all human
beings: “Disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged
the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of
speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the
common people....All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

The Member States of the United Nations pledged to work together to promote the thirty Articles of
human rights that, for the first time in history, had been assembled and codified into a single document. In
consequence, many of these rights, in various forms, are today part of the constitutional laws of
democratic nations.

INTERNATIONAL BILL OF HUMAN RIGHTS

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an ideal standard held in common by nations around the
world, but it bears no force of law. Thus, from 1948 to 1966, the UN Human Rights Commission’s main
task was to create a body of international human rights law based on the Declaration, and to establish the
mechanisms needed to enforce its implementation and use.

The Human Rights Commission produced two major documents: the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR). Both became international law in 1976. Together with the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, these two covenants comprise what is known as the “International Bill of Human Rights.”

The ICCPR focuses on issues such as the right to life, freedom of speech, religion and voting. The
ICESCR focuses on food, education, health and shelter. Both covenants proclaim these rights for all
people and forbid discrimination.

Furthermore, Article 26 of the ICCPR established a Human Rights Committee of the United Nations.
Composed of eighteen human rights experts, the Committee is responsible for ensuring that each
signatory to the ICCPR complies with its terms. The Committee examines reports submitted by countries
every five years (to ensure they are in compliance with the ICCPR), and issues findings based on a
country’s performance.

Many countries that ratified the ICCPR also agreed that the Human Rights Committee may investigate
allegations by individuals and organizations that the State has violated their rights. Before appealing to
the Committee, the complainant must exhaust all legal recourse in the courts of that country. After
investigation, the Committee publishes the results. These findings have great force. If the Committee
upholds the allegations, the State must take measures to remedy the abuse.

SUBSEQUENT UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTS

In addition to the covenants in the International Bill of Human Rights, the United Nations has adopted
more than twenty principal treaties further elaborating human rights. These include conventions to
prevent and prohibit specific abuses such as torture and genocide and to protect specific vulnerable
populations such as refugees (Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951), women (Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979), and children (Convention on
the Rights of the Child, 1989). Other conventions cover racial discrimination, prevention of genocide,
political rights of women, prohibition of slavery and torture.

Each of these treaties has established a committee of experts to monitor implementation of the treaty
provisions by its State parties.

EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights served as the inspiration for the European Convention on
Human Rights, one of the most significant agreements in the European Community. The Convention was
adopted in 1953 by the Council of Europe, an intergovernmental organization established in 1949 and
composed of forty-seven European Community Member States. This body was formed to strengthen
human rights and promote democracy and the rule of law.

The Convention is enforced by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. Any person
claiming to be the victim of a violation in one of the forty-seven countries in the European Community
which has signed and ratified the Convention, may seek relief with the European Court. One must first
have exhausted all recourse in the courts of their home country and have filed an application for relief
with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS FOR THE AMERICAS, AFRICA AND ASIA

In North and South America, Africa and Asia, regional documents for the protection and promotion of
human rights extend the International Bill of Human Rights.

The American Convention on Human Rights pertains to the inter-American states—the Americas—and
was entered into force in 1978.

African states have created their own Charter of Human and People’s Rights (1981), and Muslim states
have created the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (1990).

The Asian Human Rights Charter (1986) was created by the Asian Human Rights Commission, founded
that year by a group of jurists and human rights activists in Hong Kong. The Charter is described as a
“people’s charter,” because no governmental charter has been issued to date.

HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTS

1. Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted and opened for
signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966
entry into force 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 9
2. Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the
abolition of the death penalty adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 44/128 of 15
December 1989

3. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted and opened for signature,
ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966 entry into
force 3 January 1976, in accordance with Article 27

4.  Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as amended by Protocol
No. 11 with Protocol Nos. 1, 4, 6, 7, 12 and 13

5.  African (Banjul) Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (adopted 27 June 1981, OAU Doc.
CAB/LEG/67/3 rev. 5, 21 I.L.M. 58 [1982], entered into force 21 October 1986)

6.  American Convention on Human Rights O.A.S.Treaty Series No. 36, 1144 U.N.T.S. 123, entered into
force July 18, 1978, reprinted in Basic Documents Pertaining to Human Rights in the Inter-American
System, OEA/Ser.L.V/II.82 doc.6 rev.1 at 25 (1992)

Human Rights
Violations

Human rights advocates agree that, sixty years after its issue, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
is still more a dream than reality. Violations exist in every part of the world. For example, Amnesty
International’s 2009 World Report and other sources show that individuals are:

 Tortured or abused in at least 81 countries

 Face unfair trials in at least 54 countries
 Restricted in their freedom of expression in at least 77 countries

Not only that, but women and children in particular are marginalized in numerous ways, the press is not
free in many countries, and dissenters are silenced, too often permanently. While some gains have been
made over the course of the last six decades, human rights violations still plague the world today.

To help inform you of the true situation throughout the world, this section provides examples of
violations of six Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR):

ARTICLE 3 — THE RIGHT TO LIVE FREE

“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”

An estimated 6,500 people were killed in 2007 in armed conflict in Afghanistan—nearly half being
noncombatant civilian deaths at the hands of insurgents. Hundreds of civilians were also killed in suicide
attacks by armed groups.

In Brazil in 2007, according to official figures, police killed at least 1,260 individuals—the highest total
to date. All incidents were officially labeled “acts of resistance” and received little or no investigation.

In Uganda, 1,500 people die each week in the internally displaced person camps. According to the World
Health Organization, 500,000 have died in these camps.

Vietnamese authorities forced at least 75,000 drug addicts and prostitutes into 71 overpopulated “rehab”
camps, labeling the detainees at “high risk” of contracting HIV/AIDS but providing no treatment.

ARTICLE 4 — NO SLAVERY

“No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their
forms.”

In northern Uganda, the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) guerrillas have kidnapped 20,000 children over
the past twenty years and forced them into service as soldiers or sexual slaves for the army.

In Guinea-Bissau, children as young as five are trafficked out of the country to work in cotton fields in
southern Senegal or as beggars in the capital city. In Ghana, children five to fourteen are tricked with
false promises of education and future into dangerous, unpaid jobs in the fishing industry.
In Asia, Japan is the major destination country for trafficked women, especially women coming from the
Philippines and Thailand. UNICEF estimates 60,000 child prostitutes in the Philippines.

The US State Department estimates 600,000 to 820,000 men, women and children are trafficked across
international borders each year, half of whom are minors, including record numbers of women and girls
fleeing from Iraq. In nearly all countries, including Canada, the US and the UK, deportation or
harassment are the usual governmental responses, with no assistance services for the victims.

In the Dominican Republic, the operations of a trafficking ring led to the death by asphyxiation of 25
Haitian migrant workers. In 2007, two civilians and two military officers received lenient prison
sentences for their part in the operation.

In Somalia in 2007, more than 1,400 displaced Somalis and Ethiopian nationals died at sea in trafficking
operations.

ARTICLE 5 — NO TORTURE

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

In 2008, US authorities continued to hold 270 prisoners in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, without charge or
trial, subjecting them to “water-boarding,” torture that simulates drowning. Former-President George W.
Bush authorized the CIA to continue secret detention and interrogation, despite its violation of
international law.

In Darfur, violence, atrocities and abduction are rampant and outside aid all but cut off. Women in
particular are the victims of unrestrained assault, with more than 200 rapes in the vicinity of a displaced
persons camp in one five-week period, with no effort by authorities to punish the perpetrators.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, acts of torture and ill treatment are routinely committed by
government security services and armed groups, including sustained beatings, stabbings and rapes of
those in custody. Detainees are held incommunicado, sometimes in secret detention sites. In 2007, the
Republican Guard (presidential guard) and Special Services police division in Kinshasa arbitrarily
detained and tortured numerous individuals labeled as critics of the government.

ARTICLE 13 — FREEDOM TO MOVE

“1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.

“2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.”

In Myanmar, thousands of citizens were detained, including 700 prisoners of conscience, most notably
Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In retaliation for her political activities, she has been imprisoned
or under house arrest for twelve of the last eighteen years, and has refused government offers of release
that would require her to leave the country.

In Algeria, refugees and asylum-seekers were frequent victims of detention, expulsion or ill treatment.
Twenty-eight individuals from sub-Saharan African countries with official refugee status from the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) were deported to Mali after being falsely tried,
without legal counsel or interpreters, on charges of entering Algeria illegally. They were dumped near a
desert town where a Malian armed group was active, without food, water or medical aid.

In Kenya, authorities violated international refugee law when they closed the border to thousands of
people fleeing armed conflict in Somalia. Asylum-seekers were illegally detained at the Kenyan border
without charge or trial and forcibly returned to Somalia.

In northern Uganda, 1.6 million citizens remained in displacement camps. In the Acholi subregion, the
area most affected by armed conflict, 63 percent of the 1.1 million people displaced in 2005 were still
living in camps in 2007, with only 7,000 returned permanently to their places of origin.

ARTICLE 18 — FREEDOM OF THOUGHT

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to
change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or
private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”
In Myanmar, the military junta crushed peaceful demonstrations led by monks, raided and closed
monasteries, confiscated and destroyed property, shot, beat and detained protesters, and harassed or held
hostage the friends and family members of the protesters.

In China, Falun Gong practitioners were singled out for torture and other abuses while in detention.
Christians were persecuted for practicing their religion outside state-sanctioned channels.

In Kazakhstan, local authorities in a community near Almaty authorized the destruction of twelve homes,
all belonging to Hare Krishna members, falsely charging that the land on which the homes were built had
been illegally acquired. Only homes belonging to members of the Hare Krishna community were
destroyed

ARTICLE 19 — FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media
and regardless of frontiers.”

In Sudan, dozens of human rights defenders were arrested and tortured by national intelligence and
security forces.

In Ethiopia, two prominent human rights defenders were convicted on false charges and sentenced to
nearly three years in prison.

In Somalia, a prominent human rights defender was murdered.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the government attacks and threatens human rights defenders
and restricts freedom of expression and association. In 2007, provisions of the 2004 Press Act were used
by the government to censor newspapers and limit freedom of expression.

Russia repressed political dissent, pressured or shut down independent media and harassed
nongovernmental organizations. Peaceful public demonstrations were dispersed with force, and lawyers,
human rights defenders and journalists were threatened and attacked. Since 2000, the murders of
seventeen journalists, all critical of government policies and actions, remain unsolved.

In Iraq, at least thirty-seven Iraqi employees of media networks were killed in 2008, and a total of 235
since the invasion of March 2003, making Iraq the world’s most dangerous place for journalists

ARTICLE 21 — RIGHT TO DEMOCRACY

“1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen
representatives.

“2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.

“3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in
periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret
vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”

In Zimbabwe, hundreds of human rights defenders and members of the main opposition party, the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), were arrested for participating in peaceful gatherings.

In Pakistan, thousands of lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders and political activists were arrested
for demanding democracy, the rule of law and an independent judiciary.

In Cuba, at the end of 2007, sixty two prisoners of conscience remained incarcerated for their nonviolent
political views or activities.

SUMMARY

Human rights exist, as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the entire body of
international human rights law. They are recognized—at least in principle—by most nations and form the
heart of many national constitutions. Yet the actual situation in the world is far distant from the ideals
envisioned in the Declaration.
To some, the full realization of human rights is a remote and unattainable goal. Even international human
rights laws are difficult to enforce and pursuing a complaint can take years and a great deal of money.
These international laws serve as a restraining function but are insufficient to provide adequate human
rights protection, as evidenced by the stark reality of abuses perpetrated daily.

Discrimination is rampant throughout the world. Thousands are in prison for speaking their minds.
Torture and politically motivated imprisonment, often without trial, are commonplace, condoned and
practiced—even in some democratic countries.