The importance of human

Right in your life

By Nejd Hammami
What are human rights and
why are they important?
Discover your human rights, where they originate from,
and how they serve you in today’s society.

By Rhiannon Wardle

Most of us are aware that we have human rights. However,

not all of us know what they mean in a practical sense. How
do human rights protect us? How do they interact with the
law? And what happens when our human rights are
violated?

We’re here to answer all these questions and more, helping

you have a better understanding of how your human rights
serve you. We’ll be discussing the origins of human rights,
why they’re so important, and what they all say. Then, we’ll
talk about how you can take action on human rights issues.

How do we define human rights?

Human rights can be defined as fundamental rights that
everyone is entitled to, purely on the basis that they are a
human being. They’ve only existed formally for around 200
years – before that, there were no real laws to ensure
people were treated fairly regardless of things like age,
race, and gender.

So essentially, human rights conventions, declarations, and

acts all attempt to guarantee humans decent treatment and
protection against discrimination. There are three attributes
that all human rights have, which we discuss in our open
step on the three human rights principles.

Human rights are:

1. Interdependent and indivisible. This means that all of

our human rights have equal standing, and no single
right is more important than another. Guaranteeing one
human right is not the same as guaranteeing all, and
the violation of one human right often violates others
too.
2. Inalienable. This means that human rights are
completely unconditional. They don’t have to be
bought, inherited or earned, and they cannot be taken
away for any reason, by any person or institution.
3. Universal. This means that all human beings in the
world have human rights. Whether this is upheld is
debatable, but all states have a duty to protect the
human rights of all their citizens.

What are all of the human rights?

For a full description of all your human rights, you can take
a look at the official UN document, but we’ll be listing fifteen
of them below in simplified statements. This way, you’ll
have a better understanding of your rights before we
explore them in more detail.
 1. All humans are born equal.
2. Nobody should be treated like a slave.
3. Nobody has the right to torture you.
4. The law is the same for everyone.
5. You can ask for legal help when the rights your country
grants you are not respected.
6. Nobody has the right to imprison you without legal
reason.
7. You are innocent until proven guilty, have the right to
defend yourself, and cannot be punished for someone
else’s crime.
8. You have the right to come and go as you wish within
your country.
9. If someone hurts you, you can go to another country
and ask for protection, unless you’ve killed someone.
10. You have the right to belong to a country.
11. You have the right to profess your religion freely.
12. You can think what you want and say what you
like.
13. Everyone has the right to work, choose the type of
work they do, and get paid fairly.
14. Everyone has the right to go to school and primary
school should be free.
15. Everyone is entitled to take part in political affairs
and everyone gets a vote.

When and why were human rights

created?
You may be surprised to learn that our human rights aren’t
even 100 years old. As explored in our open step, the
horrific events of the Second World War demonstrated to
the world that humans were clearly not being treated
equally. The mass genocide of Jews, as well as the murder
of many disabled and LGBTQ+ people during the holocaust,
was a harsh wake-up call for world leaders.

The United Nations was established in June 1945 as part of

a concerted effort to achieve international peace and
prevent future conflicts. It still exists today, but now with 193
member states compared to the original 51.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

In 1948, shortly after the UN’s creation, the member states
came together to create the list of human rights. They were
guided by American diplomat and first lady, Eleanor
Roosevelt.

Two of the chief drafters were Charles Malik from Lebanon

and Peng Chun Chang from China, both
academics, diplomats and philosophers. Other key
committee members were from India, the Dominican
Republic, France, the former Soviet Union, Chile, Australia,
the UK and Canada.

On the 10th December 1948, the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights was formally created. This isn’t to say that
the idea of human rights only just emerged. For hundreds of
years, people had been seeking security, dignity and
freedom.

However, this document was revolutionary as it was the first

time that UN member states acknowledged that all human
beings were born the same and deserved the same rights,
regardless of circumstances.
The European Court of Human Rights
Since the birth of the human rights declaration, there have
been several more important landmarks. In 1959, the
European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg,
France. This is the court of law of the Council of Europe.

Essentially, this court exists to ensure that member states of

the Council of Europe respect human rights. The court has
47 elected judges, all from different states, and they
examine alleged violations of human rights. These
allegations can be made by individuals or other member
states.

If the court finds a member state guilty of human rights

violations, they provide a written judgment explaining their
decision that forces the member state to comply. Justice is
then attempted to be given to whoever made the allegation.

You can learn all about the shortcomings of human rights

law & what can be done to address them in our ExpertTrack
by the University of Kent.

The Human Rights Act 1998

In the UK, the Human Rights Act was passed in 1998. Human rights
were already being acknowledged in the UK, but this enabled it to
be set in stone. Everyone is protected by the human rights act in the
UK, whether you’re a British Citizen, foreign national or asylum
seeker.

The creation of this act meant that subjects of the crown had legal
rights for the first time, and it was also the first time that laws could
be applied to the monarchy. Public authorities have to comply with
the human rights act at all times.
If you’re interested in learning more about human rights law, we
have an excellent course by the University of Padova.

Why are human rights so important?

Even though human rights are a man-made invention
without a natural foundation, it cannot be argued against
that humans have sought freedom and equality for
centuries. In Ancient Babylon in 1750 BC, laws were written
that included principles of justice and fairness. King
Hammurabi of Babylon wrote that people should be
protected by law and not be mistreated.

Of course, these were hardly the same as modern human

rights – there was a definite hierarchy of order and violent
punishments were often doled out. However, these ancient
laws demonstrate that humans innately seek freedom,
equality and protection. Therefore, the creation of a
declaration of human rights appeals to some of the
strongest human desires and allows people to feel safer,
happier and more free.

One of the main reasons why human rights are so

important, as argued by the Humanists in their human rights
open step, is because they help protect vulnerable
minorities from tyranny. While dictators and oppressive
governments still have a lot of power over vulnerable
groups, human rights make it more difficult for them to get
away with crimes against humanity. Often, oppressive
leaders will not want to risk making their country look bad.

On the 10th anniversary of the declaration of human rights

coming together, Eleanor Roosevelt made a speech
called Where Do Human Rights Begin? which discussed
why human rights are so important.
 She said, “They are the world of the individual person; the
neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends;
the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the
places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal
justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without
discrimination”. The point she’s making is that human rights
make a difference even in the smallest areas of our lives,
but these are the areas that make life worth living.

The impact of human rights on society

The positive impact that human rights have had on society
is enormous. In 2018, the declaration turned 70, and it
continues to inspire human rights efforts to this day. Since it
was created, we’ve seen plenty more human rights treaties
and laws put into place.
The creation of new human rights laws and
conventions
We talk about this in our How the UDHR inspired other
human rights treaties open step, but we’ve seen a lot of
progress regarding new human rights laws and conventions
since the universal declaration.

Since 1948, there has been:

1. A movement towards legally binding

documents. Many treaties have been created to
enforce human rights, including legally binding
documents on the right to a fair trial and freedom of
peaceful assembly.
2. More focus on eradicating inequality and
discrimination. There have also been many more
legal documents focusing on protecting the rights of
specific people, including conventions against racial
discrimination, discrimination against women, and
inhumane treatment.

Signs of progress around the world

There are also plenty of tangible changes that we can see
in society as a result of human rights being created. We
discuss this in more detail in our Taking Action open step,
but below are some achievements of human rights.

Human rights have enabled:

1. Citizens of Azerbaijan to demand free and fair

elections, including the right to peacefully protest
2. Women to be allowed to vote and stand for elections in
Kuwait
3. Ireland to lift their ban on abortion
 4. The decriminalisation of homosexual relationships in
India.

International Human Rights Day

To commemorate the creation of the declaration of human
rights, we celebrate International Human Rights Day on the
10th of December every year. The day offers up a chance
to highlight human rights issues all over the world so we can
keep pushing for change.

This year, the theme is Equality, relating to the very first

article in the declaration of human rights. The theme seeks
to address deep-rooted discrimination in society in an
attempt to meet the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development
Goals.

How to take action against human rights

violations
If you’re left wondering what to do with all of this
information, then continue reading. Here at FutureLearn, we
don’t just believe in educating ourselves about important
issues, but also in taking action.

That’s why practical courses such as Championing Change:

Human Rights and the Climate Crisis by Amnesty
International or Implementing Safeguarding in the
International Aid Sector by The Open University might be
perfect for you.

If, however, you’re looking for some immediate advice on

how to take action against human rights violations, no need
to look any further. With help from our Communicating
Human Rights and Shaping inclusive societies open steps,
we’ve got some tips below.

How to talk about human rights issues

1. Identify an issue. Discover what you’re most

passionate about and learn all you can about it. Read
newspapers and reports, and call relevant officials for
information.
2. Choose your action. Think about your strengths and
what you’re trying to evoke. You could create an
informative social media platform, conduct interviews
with people affected by human rights violations, write a
media article, or create poems, art and music.
3. Craft a positive message. Are you for or against
something? Are you fighting a problem or offering a
solution? Are you warning people or highlighting an
opportunity? It’s important to seed hope, not fear.

How to promote a more inclusive society

1. Identify an issue. What is an issue preventing us from

having an inclusive society? Do you want to prevent
violence against women, for instance? Watch the
news, follow social media, read reports, and join
political meetings to get clued up.
2. Identify key influencers. Who can help you resolve
this issue? Think about contacting local politicians,
media outlets, social media influencers, NGOs and
party representatives.
3. Pick your action. What are you working towards?
Perhaps you want to lobby politicians, rally supporters,
organise demonstrations, or contact authorities and
lawyers about your chosen issue.
 Final thoughts
Hopefully, you now have a good understanding of what
human rights are and how they impact our everyday lives. If
you’ve been inspired to fight for your rights or the rights of
others, consider trying one of the methods above. Or
alternatively, consider exploring our range of online human
rights law courses.

Educating ourselves is an important step, but it’s not the

end goal. How can we use our voices and actions to create
a fairer future for all?

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