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General human rights
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Human rights – An international matter of concern
International development cooperation aims to contribute to the fulfilling of civil, political, economic, social and cultural human rights. Germany has also pledged to help achieve that goal. Up until the Second World War the protection of human rights was predominantly a national issue. It was during that war that the Allies declared they wanted to create an enabling environment in which all human beings could live in peace and without fear and want.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed in the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1948. Since then a very large number of international and national treaties, agreements and constitutions have taken that document as their point of reference – among others the eight Millennium Development Goals.
Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not have the legally binding force of a treaty, it carries very great political and moral weight. Some of its provisions have since been recognised as customary international law, some even as binding international law (ius cogens). Regional agreements such as the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 and the European Social Charter of 1961 are based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The human rights covenants
In order to convert the human rights set out in the Universal Declaration into legally binding norms, in 1966 the United Nations adopted two human rights covenants: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Social Covenant) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the Civil Covenant).
The Covenants both entered into force in 1976 and, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, constitute the International Bill of Rights. Those states that have signed the two human rights covenants are obligated to regularly inform the responsible control bodies of the measures they have initiated to implement them.
In December 2008, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted an Optional Protocol to the Social Covenant establishing an individual complaints procedure. This Optional Protocol was opened for ratification in September 2009. It takes effect when it has been ratified by ten states. A procedure for individual complaints under the Civil Covenant has existed since 1976.
Other United Nations human rights treaties
The United Nations has drawn up numerous human rights treaties and declarations since 1948. Along with the two Covenants, some of the most important ones that have already entered into effect are:
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The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
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The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
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The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
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The Convention on the Rights of the Child
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The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families
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The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Eight United Nations committees of experts are currently responsible for monitoring compliance with these treaties. Efforts have been made since 2005 to merge the various reporting systems in order to increase efficiency and, especially in developing countries, to save human resources.
In December 2006 the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance was adopted. The Convention was opened for ratification in February 2007. It takes effect when it has been ratified by twenty states. Germany ratified it in September 2009.
The right to development
Since 1986, the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development has affirmed that "The human person is the central subject of development and should be the active participant and beneficiary of the right to development."
According to the above-mentioned Declaration, the right to development is an inalienable human right. All people and peoples have the right to participate in economic, social, cultural and political development in which human rights and fundamental freedoms are granted. Through its systematic orientation to human rights and associated principles such as participation, transparency, accountability and non-discrimination, German development policy fosters self-determined development in its partner countries.
Regional human rights conventions
The international human rights framework of the United Nations is complemented by regional human rights conventions with appropriate enforcement mechanisms. These include the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950, the American Convention on Human Rights of 1969, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights of 1981 (the Banjul Charter) and the Arab Charter on Human Rights of 2004.
Information
See also
- International institutions for the protection of human rights
- Germany's development cooperation within the framework of international organisations
External links
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948
- United Nations Millennium Declaration
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(PDF 48 KB) - International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
- International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
- Declaration on the Right to Development
