Across the world, governments and individuals have recognised that there are certain minimum requirements for human dignity. These basic beliefs – that people deserve to live with some level of physical, mental and spiritual security, and that all people should be treated fairly and with respect – are so widely accepted that they have become known as human rights.
These rights are inalienable, indivisible and interdependent; they are universal, irrespective of where a person lives or comes from; and they are not subject to derogation by any circumstance of fact or by any circumstance of time. Human rights are not just a Western creation; they have roots in all cultures and traditions and are the result of universal human needs and a search for justice.
The traumatic events of the Second World War sparked a major shift in global thinking about human rights, and led to the development of international laws, organisations and institutions to protect and promote them. Governments worldwide made a concerted effort to foster peace and prevent the horrors of war from ever occurring again, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created to set out the basic rights that all human beings can expect to have simply because they are humans.
Since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, governments have incorporated its principles into their national laws. Individuals can file complaints about violations of their human rights with local courts or with international bodies such as the United Nations. Some countries have even established commissions to investigate allegations of violations, although these do not have any enforcement power.
One of the key challenges facing the human rights movement is how to win broad political support for its ideas. The most effective way to achieve this is to make sure that the ideas of human rights appeal to people with all kinds of political views, from center-right to center-left.
It is also necessary to clarify what the human rights movement means by describing how it differs from other types of rights. While all rights are important, the human rights movement is distinct in that it is based on the belief that human beings need certain legal protections to ensure their well-being, and that these needs must be taken into account when making decisions about the use of state power.
Another distinguishing feature of human rights is that they are not limited to political or civil rights but also include economic, social and cultural rights. This is because it has been argued that the fulfilment of one type of right will often, but not necessarily, depend on the fulfilment of other rights. For example, a person’s ability to enjoy their rights to health will depend on the availability of food, clean water and shelter, and on their access to education and healthcare. This is why many people argue that all of these rights should be protected and respected by the state, and that they should not be subject to derogation.