Are Human rights universal?

(Add what are Human Rights from notes as well)

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.

“Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every
person in the world, from birth until death. They apply regardless of where
you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live your life.”

Universal rights definition:

These universal rights are inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, sex, national or
ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They range from the most
fundamental - the right to life - to those that make life worth living, such as the rights
to food, education, work, health, and liberty.

On 10 December 2008, the United Nations led worldwide celebrations to commemorate the
sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Six decades ago, the
international community affirmed that the strength of shared ideas and a common vision of
respectful and peaceful coexistence could prevail over brutality, hatred and destruction.

Having risen from the sorrow and shame of atrocities perpetrated in the course of the Second World
War, the Declaration represented, and continues to represent, one of humanity's most shining
achievements. It enshrines the hope for a better world, where aspirations to freedom and well-being
converge. The framers of the Declaration, who came from diverse countries and cultures, ultimately
succeeded in delivering the first universal articulation of human rights and entitlements that make
dignity, justice and equality possible for everyone everywhere.
The Universal Declaration envisaged a world in which every man, woman and child lives free from
hunger and is protected from oppression, violence and discrimination, with benefits of housing,
health care, education and opportunity. This encapsulates the global culture of human rights that
we strive towards, and should therefore be a unifying rather than a divisive force within and
among all cultures.

Stemming from the formidable intuition and early articulation of the Declaration's framers, the
discourse and action on human rights has subsequently, and with increased sharpness, highlighted
the fundamental elements that emanate from the universality of human rights. Thus, human rights
law and advocacy emphasized our inherent human commonality, as well as the indivisible character
of rights. They underscored the primary duty of States to give effect to the full spectrum of rights,
including the responsibility of the international community and its institutions to foster a culture of
solidarity and bolster implementation capacities, so as to give full effect to those rights.

Inherent universality and indivisibility of rights

The diverse group of the Declaration's framers insisted on our kinship in rights, our common claim
to a life of dignity and our right to count and be counted, irrespective of ancestry, gender, color,
status and creed. The Declaration was crucial in envisaging freedom and entitlement as mutually
reinforcing sides of the same coin of human aspirations. It unequivocally linked destitution and
exclusion with discrimination and unequal access to resources and opportunities. The framers also
understood that social and cultural stigmatization precluded full participation in public life,
including the ability to influence policies and obtain justice. In other words, they made it clear that
all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights were not only universal, but also indivisible
and interrelated in their application. Individually and globally. This means that one set of rights
cannot be enjoyed fully without the other. As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made clear, we
cannot "pick and choose" among rights.

Interlinkage

It is personal experience that political and civil rights, as well as economic, cultural and social
rights, depend closely on one another. Currently, there is a growing understanding of how the
components of human welfare and dignity, that is, human rights, development and security, are
intrinsically interlinked. Today, a wide body of international laws "spanning from human rights
law to humanitarian, refugee and criminal law" enhances fundamental protection in times of war,
peace and emergency. No vital set of rights has been overlooked.

The recent International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,
the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, and now the
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights testify to the
fact that the creation of norms is an ongoing process that remains open to refinement and new
ideas, and innovative responses to current and emerging challenges.

Importance of hr principal
The instrumental importance of human rights principles, such as equality, participation,
accountability and the rule of law, is now widely accepted. Information and the freedom to
organize and openly express views are vital for good policy-making and measurable
implementation. Socio-economic rights are critical for the meaningful exercise of these freedoms,
and gender equality has also been an indispensable precondition to maximizing and propagating
education, development and the improvement of communities worldwide.

Attacks on the universality of rights often stand as barriers to human rights implementation. Some
critics maintain that the Universal Declaration went too far in promoting the freedoms and values
of liberal traditions. Others hold that its framers did not go far enough and that liberty occupies a
higher plane than material welfare. The truth is that the Declaration is not merely congruent with
some customs and foreign to other cultures; speaking to our common humanity, it drew its
principles from many diverse traditions and made them more robust through a uniform
codification. 

The need for universal implementation:

However, for all the solemn commitments and normative advances, serious implementation gaps
remain. Impunity, armed conflict, discrimination and authoritarian rule have not been defeated.
Regrettably, human rights are at times sidestepped to promote short-sighted security agendas. And,
lamentably, a trade-off between justice and peace is often erroneously invoked when societies
emerge from conflict and combatants return to their communities. Poverty, discrimination based on
various grounds, such as race, ethnicity, gender, disability, health conditions or sexual orientation,
and human rights violations occurring in the context of mass movements of people, remain of the
gravest concern.

As we continue to progress in setting international standards, we should never lose sight of the
fact that for individuals and communities around the world these standards matter the most at
the national level. Renewed efforts are needed to give effect to human rights on the ground. An
indispensable first step is for States that have not already done so to ratify and unreservedly commit
to the implementation of all international human rights treaties. In addition to absorbing
international standards into the domestic legal systems, other necessary elements conducive to the
respect of human rights include an independent judicial and legislative branch and national human
rights institutions. The impartial scrutiny undertaken by these institutions, as well as the media and
other civil society organizations, is essential for ensuring accountability for actions taken or omitted.

Yet, interpretation of international human rights law is not always uniform, with different
approaches emerging to enforce human rights norms. Authoritative interpretations and assessments
by independent mechanisms, such as treaty bodies, special procedures or regional human rights
courts, provide the best guidance. However, there is no escaping the fact that it is the duty of States,
regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights
and fundamental freedoms. To this end, Governments should use all their available resources fairly
and equitably. Particularly in countries transitioning from violent conflict to peace, the judicial
protection of economic, social, and cultural rights is of great strategic significance. The rights of
minorities, women and the vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized groups, including their rights
to access justice, restitution and compensation, must be safeguarded. If fails to adopt, the
consequences of the failures often persist long after normalcy is restored. Correcting them often
requires considerable investment and resources on the part of the country involved, as well as the
international community.

Global interdependence and solidarity

perhaps nothing exemplifies more vividly the need to pull together resources than new or
resurgent challenges to human rights. These include the recent food emergencies, the ongoing
financial crises, climate change, migration and terrorism. However, century-old scourges, such as
racial and gender discrimination, also continue to demand more focused and incisive collective
action.

Let us make no mistake: the luckiest among us, those who are spared the most negative effects of
disaster, cannot turn a blind eye from the cascading effects of abuse and indifference on each
occupant of our global village. Rights or their violations, as well as neglect of the obligations that
rights engender, hold the whole world in solidarity and responsibility. Blatant examples of the global
perils posed by long-neglected vulnerabilities have emerged in the course of the recent food and
financial crises.

Financial crises

A scarcity of affordable food and a lack of means of sustenance, including access to credit, have been
more acute for individuals, families and communities who had been victims of deep-rooted practices
of exclusion and discrimination. Upheavals of such magnitude are also likely to condemn whole
generations to abject poverty if structural causes rooted in human rights violations are not
addressed. A failure to empower vulnerable groups to claim their rights and the enforcement of
repressive policies aimed at gagging protest altogether further compound the predicament of the
marginalized. Through a human rights lens, we must put corrective measures in place. These should
include not only immediate relief but also fair policies on land ownership, access to credit and basic
services, equitable access to other productive resources and public policy safety nets, as well as the
creation of vehicles and channels to publicize needs, denounce abuse and obtain redress.

Climate change:

Climate change is another topic of global impact that has often been tackled without the benefit of a
human rights component in international responses. However, climate-related challenges also pose
a direct threat to a wide range of universally recognized human rights, such as the rights to life, food,
water, health and adequate housing. The consequences of calamitous weather conditions are
already visible in many parts of the world. A human rights approach compels us to look at the people
whose lives are most adversely affected. It provides the legal rationale and grounds to advocate the
integration of human rights obligations into policies and programmes that counter the negative
effects of the environment. It links the assessment of critical vulnerabilities, which are deliberately or
negligently overlooked, with accountability for acts of commission and omission on the part of
States.
Migration:

Similarly, migration is another major human rights challenge that requires an integrated approach.
The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members
of Their Families provides a good basis for shaping policies that are coherent across national borders
and respectful of migrants' rights in both the receiving and sending countries. I strongly encourage all
UN Member States to ratify this important instrument, as effective responses to the challenges of
migration require uniform standards from which to build concerted action on the part of both
receiving and sending countries. We must also spare no effort to address human trafficking, a
phenomenon that is often unduly conflated with migratory flows. Trafficking represents a multi-
billion dollar industry that commodifies human beings and is antithetical to human rights and
humanity at its core.

Terrorism:

As for terrorism, it is undeniable that this scourge often thrives in environments in which human
rights are curtailed or violated, where non-violent channels to express discontent are lacking, and
where discrimination and exclusion are rampant. It is broadly recognized that not only is respect for
human rights an essential element of an effective counter-terrorism strategy, but that disrespect for
them actually undermines counter-terrorism efforts and breeds violent confrontation. Indeed,
human rights should be placed at the core of international cooperation in countering terrorism.
States are legally bound to ensure that measures taken to combat crimes of terrorism comply with
their obligations under international human rights law, in particular, the right to recognition as a
person before the law, due process and the principle of non-refoulement.*

Due to their scale and consequences, current global challenges to human rights are more likely to be
readily recognized as common threats worthy of the international community's attention. However,
long-entrenched abuses stemming from racism, xenophobia, discrimination and intolerance are
problems that shamefully continue to occur on a daily basis across the world and all too often
remain below the international radar screen. There is no doubt that ethnic rivalries, racial
discrimination and religious intolerance underlie many of today's communal strife and violent
conflicts. Furthermore, the persistence of racism in the aftermath of conflict has been a key source of
instability and a major obstacle to sustainable peace. The increased mobility of peoples resulting
from globalization or forced displacement has led to incitement, hatred and a rise in xenophobia.

This discussion also prompts me to underscore a fundamental reality: that despite the best of
intentions, human rights instruments, mechanisms and processes are not self-fulfilling. More
determined collaborative action is needed to maximize the potential for change and improvement.
Cooperation takes place in many forms and venues: at the international level primarily, within the
auspices of the United Nations, specifically the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, as
well as other UN bodies, such as the Security Council. A particularly noteworthy feature of the
Human Rights Council is its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, which has already reviewed
32 States and drawn information from a variety of stakeholders, including civil society.
Conclusion:

We will only be able to wholly honor the towering vision of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights when its universal principles are given full effect everywhere and for everyone.