Human Rights
Human rights are “international norms that help to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses” (Nickel, 2010). It is important to note that human rights are associated with the issues of morality and realized in law at both the national and international levels.
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” (UDHR, n.d.).
The UN Declaration of Human Rights is the main source of the modern conception of human rights.
The UN Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948.
The main principles according to which the UDHR was developed are dignity, freedom, respect, equality, justice, and peace.
The UDHR was worked out as the response to the necessity to determine the human rights as universal values and to protect them against all the forms of abusing.
The UDHR includes the internationally adopted norms and standards which are necessary to be followed in society.
The UDHR states the human rights which involve all the aspects of the individuals’ life in 30 articles. They are:
- the rights to life, liberty and security of person,
- to freedom from slavery, torture, discrimination,
- to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,
- to equality before the law.
The Declaration also states personal and cultural rights and the right to education.
The main strength of the Declaration is in the fact that all the rights are equal, universal, and inalienable.
The UN Millennium Project
The UN Millennium Project was started in September 2000 when 191 nations adopted the Millennium Declaration. The Declaration states the main principles according to which the nations should develop in order to reach the peace and security in the world with depending on the mutual cooperation of the developed and developing countries at the global arena.
The Millennium Project is developed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which are directed toward reducing the poverty, overcoming environmental degradation, and discrimination.
The main peculiarities of MDGs and strengths of the project:
- There is a limited number of goals to achieve – 8.
- They are developed in 18 quantitative specific targets and 40 indicators to measure progress in achieving;
- The time of completing the project is limited;
- There is the developed system of interaction between the participants.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
- Achieve universal primary education.
- Promote gender equality and empower women.
- Reduce child mortality.
- Improve maternal health.
- Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
- Ensure environmental sustainability.
- Develop a Global Partnership for Development.
The Millennium Project is worked out to propose the best strategies for realizing the MDGs.
The UN Declaration of Human Rights & The UN Millennium Project
The UDHR guarantees the protection of human rights as the part of realizing the principles of the international law. The UDHR can also be discussed as a basis for making the decisions by the human rights observers such as, for instance, Amnesty International.
The UDHR is the standard for completing the aspects of the civil and legal policy in relation to the human rights for all the nations and states (United Nations Association, n.d.).
The UN Millennium Project can be discussed as the base for the political and social cooperation and mobilization of the developed and developing countries during which the national governments in association with the global corporations and unions successfully act at the world arena in order to overcome the main global issues (UN Millennium Project, 2006).
Question
What is the role of the UN Millennium Project in addressing the issue of the human rights’ protection provided by the UDHR?
References
Nickel, J. (2010). Human rights. Web.
UDHR. (n.d.). Web.
United Nations Association: Questions and answers. (n.d.). Web.
UN Millennium Project. (2006). Web.