Human rights and the UN
The United Nations has played a pivotal role in the evolution of human rights norms and in development of the legal framework for the promotion and protection of these rights.
In 1948 the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first multinational agreement to mention human rights by name. The Universal Declaration is not legally binding but its ideas have been elaborated into a legal framework comprised of binding treaties. The core international human rights treaties are available in the scroll down menu below.
Articles available here
listed below, in the order in which they came into force: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) {read here} 1965 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) {read here} 1966 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (not yet in force) {read here} Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) {read here} Several of the above treaties feature optional protocols, provisions added to the legislation after its entry into force. Signatories can choose whether also to sign the optional protocol. This list is not finite, and discussions are ongoing to add to it. Negotiations are being held, for example, to create a declaration on the rights of the disabled and on forced disappearances. |
UNA-UK latest news
| 17 December - UNA-UK releases report on strengthening UN rights body | ||
| UNA-UK has released a report containing recommendations on making the UN Human Rights Council more effective. Established in 2006, the Council is currently undergoing a review process. | ||
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While producing some good outcomes, notably the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Council’s work in addressing human rights violations has been impaired by the politicisation and divisions that beset its discredited predecessor Commission on Human Rights. In the report, which was sent to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, UNA-UK Chair Lord Hannay of Chiswick said "UNA-UK attaches the greatest importance to the need for the UN to work more effectively in the field of human rights where the performance of far too many member states remains lamentable. We hope that the government will give a high priority in the 2011 review to bringing about practical improvements and to avoiding any back-sliding.” |
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17 November - Aung San Sunn Kyi is free but battle for reform in Burma continues |
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In a move welcomed by the UN, Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released on 13 November. Her release was timed to coincide with the first general election held in Burma for 20 years, the result of which was widely condemned as invalid by many political commentators. UNA-UK has long called for an end to Suu Kyi's detainment, and is now encouraging supporters to campaign for the release of the 2,200 other political prisoners currently detained by the Burmese government. |
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| 25 July - Former Khmer Rouge found guilty of crimes against humanity |
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31 years after Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge followers were driven out of Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese army, a former Khmer Rouge prison chief has been found guilty of crimes against humanity by Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes tribunal. Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, managed the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, were up to 17,000 people are thought to have died. Found guilty of crimes against humanity by Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes tribunal, Duch will face up to 35 years imprisonment. Other Khmer Rouge leaders await trial, including former head of state Khieu Samphan, who helped command the regime which was responsible for an estimated two million deaths between 1975 and 1979. |
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| 19 May - UNA-UK writes to FCO on Chagos Islands | ||
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UNA-UK has written to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) to express concern over the decision to establish a ‘no-take’ Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes the Chagos Islands. |
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UNA-UK believes that the environmental and human rights objectives pertaining to Chagos are not incompatible and urges the new UK government to work with the Chagossians (and all other relevant parties) on an MPA solution acceptable to all; to consider the recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Committee on the right of Chagossians to return; and to report on the situation in the UK’s next periodic report to the UN Human Rights Committee. |
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