Sixty years of Human Rights

The Declaration focuses on individual rights (“Everyone has the right …”, “Every human being …”) and lists out the fundamental rights such as:

• Rights to Physical Security
  The right to life and security of a person;
  Right not to be subject to torture or cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.
   
• Rights to Due Process and Equality before the Law
  Freedom from arbitrary arrest;
  Right to recognition as a person before the law;
  The right to a fair trial and equality before the law.
   
• Rights to Participation
  The rights to participate in the social, political and cultural life of one’s country.
   
• Right to Liberty or Freedom
  Freedom from slavery;
  Freedom of thought and expression;
  Right to freedom of movement and residence;
  Freedom of marriage and family life;
  Freedom of assembly and association;
  Freedom of thought, opinion and religion.
   
• Economic and Social Rights (Articles 22-27)
  The right to social security;
  The right to work and education;
  The right to health and well-being;
  Right to rest and leisure.
   
• The last two articles emphasise:
  the duty of the whole international community to create a society that allows for the full realisation of human rights (Art. 29); and
  that nothing in the Declaration should be used to take away any of the human rights (Art.30).

The Declaration is not binding on states. Its key importance is that it provides a generally recognised “common standard of achievement for all people and nations and the states that represent them”.

In the past 60 years, human rights standards have been developed and incorporated into many international laws and treaties - such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC).

In fact, 60 years later, this Universal Declaration continues to be one of the most important documents of the 20th century. It has become the inspiration behind a global movement, while setting the benchmark for the world to attain, and providing a standard against which we can all be judged.

Human rights in a contemporary world

Now let us focus on today’s world. Many advances in human rights have been made since 1948 that have improved the lives of millions of people; such as the end of apartheid and the growth of democracy in Latin America and Eastern Europe, and more recently the economic and social development in Asia.

In particular the international community has developed an international human rights law system with clearly defined human rights standards in place; which is also used to provide guidance for domestic human rights protection, develop international jurisprudence and some practical protection of individual rights in a limited number of cases.

But human rights practices often fall well behind the agreed standards.

For example Article 7 of the UDHR declares that everyone must be "equal before the law", but Amnesty International reported that at least 23 countries have laws discriminating against women. Article 19 acknowledges "freedom of opinion and expression". Sadly, we are aware of 77 countries in which this peaceful expression of views would bring the threat of repression and even death. Article 25 stresses that "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for their health and well-being", but eight out of 10 people around the world still live in poverty.

Wars are being used to deal with domestic and international conflicts. They are often marked by the targeting of civilians by armed groups, killings based on race or ethnicity, rape and sexual violence against women and girls, and the recruitment of child soldiers. The death penalty is also commonly used in countries such as China or Iran and some countries are trying to redefine the ban on torture and ill-treatment.

So there is much to be done in the world to improve human rights practices.

Human rights in Australia

There is also much we could do in Australia.