The term human rights has entered the world's common language for decades, with different meanings, connotations and interpretations depending on the geographical area in which one is located. Although the idea of human rights existed vaguely in previous eras, it has been dealt with explicitly since 1945 when given the horrors committed by the Nazis, there was a desire to create an instrument capable of guaranteeing the inviolability of certain rights, both internationally and domestically. Thus it was adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10 1948.
Human rights means the inalienable rights of man, meaning those rights that must be accorded to every individual simply because he or she is part of the human community, regardless of his or her origins, affiliation and geographical location. Ensuring human rights means giving power of choice, obtaining a career, making decisions, but also living without threats related to one's thinking. Believing in human rights means believing in freedom.
The adoption of the Universal Declaration is considered by many to be a historic event, a new beginning for the international community, attempting to clarify, for the first time in history, the supreme value of the person originating in his or her dignity, the same dignity that forms the basis of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
Chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, political activist and widow of President Roosevelt, the Commission that drafted the declaration had the idea of an interdependence of human rights that are classified into civil, political and social rights. To be placed within civil rights are freedom of thought, personal freedom, freedom of religion and again economic freedom. Political rights, on the other hand, involve the typical freedoms of democratic states, with active participation of the people in the political election process. Social rights, on the other hand, include the right to work, study and health protection.
During the drafting of the draft, Eleanor Roosevelt decided to work alongside with women from Pakistan, India, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, and the Soviet Union, who were able to make fundamental contributions to the statute. Indeed, they fought to affirm certain cornerstones such as a guarantee of nondiscrimination on the basis of gender, fair pay, and a universality of rights that would counteract the colonial mentality that had dominated the previous decades.
Given the importance that is attributed to the Universal Declaration and, at the same time, the impossibility of seeing an adequate design of human rights realized in certain contexts, the question often arises as to the value of the statute. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is to be seen as a legally non-binding instrument. Despite this, many of its clauses have, over the years, become legally binding as they have become part of customary international law. The statuary enterprise of trying to safeguard human rights as best as possible became the source of a number of binding conventions, such as the 1948 genocide convention and the 1951 refugee convention.
Crossing continents and analyzing peoples' perceptions of human rights, it is clear how the methods and severity of violations change, but not the underlying meaning. The past decade has seen an increasing exacerbation of hatred toward migration and minorities in addition to xenophobia and gender differences. The Covid-19 pandemic has weakened an already precarious living condition, especially for countries in the South. Societies have witnessed a large-scale violation of rights such as the right to health and life itself, especially for the most marginalized groups.
Sixty years after its publication, according to many, the Declaration still represents a dream rather than a reality. In an everyday life where globalization allows for the instantaneous dissemination of all kinds of news, any kind of filter on how human rights are deliberately violated in every part of the world is lacking. Women and children continue to be marginalized, torture is present in an estimated 110 countries, and freedom of the press is a utopia in many nations. It is clear that although the principles contained within the statute have been recognized by most nations, the conditions of their implementation are still far from the ideal conceived by the commission in 1948.
Each year, on October 24, we celebrate United Nations Day, a means of amplifying and reaffirming the principles and goals enshrined in the United Nations Charter, but above all a time to reflect on the work done in each of their areas of competence. This year it is perhaps a must to ask why all those rights that Eleanor Roosevelt fought for still seem unattainable for more than a third of the world. And that is also why the value the world's population places on the issue of human rights is growing by the day, leading to the mobilization of millions of people, who are fighting for a free, equal and discrimination-free society. Because the desire for freedom is there and always will be.
Translated by Flora Stanziola
Sources consulted for this article:
https://www.dirittiumanietolleranza.org/violazioni-dei-diritti-umani/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27640541?seq=4#metadata_info_tab_contents
https://www.amnesty.it/rapporto-2021-2022-la-situazione-dei-diritti-umani-nel-mondo/
https://www.osservatoriodiritti.it/2019/01/17/diritti-umani-violati-nel-mondo-human-rights-watch/
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L'Autore
Chiara Giovannoni
Chiara Giovannoni, classe 2000, è laureata in Scienze Internazionali e Diplomatiche all’Università di Bologna. Attualmente frequenta il corso di laurea magistrale in Strategie Culturali per la Cooperazione e lo sviluppo presso l’Università Roma3.
Interessata alle relazioni internazionali, in particolare alla dimensione dei diritti umani e alla cooperazione.
E’ volontaria presso un’organizzazione no profit che si occupa dei diritti dei minori in varie aree del mondo.
In Mondo Internazionale ricopre la carica di autrice per l’area tematica Diritti Umani.
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights