It is a common observation that human beings everywhere require the realization of diverse values or capabilities to ensure their individual and collective well-being. It is also a widely shared view that this demand, whether conceived or expressed as a moral or a legal requirement, is frequently frustrated by social and natural forces, resulting in exploitation, oppression, persecution and deprivation. These twin observations form the basis of human rights and the national and international legal processes associated with them.
All human rights are universal, indivisible and interrelated. They are inherent to each and every person born on this earth, unless prohibited by law or denounced in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted in 1948. This is a unique document that marks out 30 fundamental rights to all people in the world, regardless of their political, economic or cultural systems.
The UDHR was developed through a process that involved participants from all regions, giving the document a broad and inclusive perspective. It is one of the only global documents that recognises the fact that human rights are indivisible, interdependent and inalienable.
Human rights are based on the belief that there are some things that all people need in order to live with dignity, and that those needs cannot be met without certain limits on state power. That is why human rights enjoy support from every culture in the world and almost all civilised governments and religions. It is why they are recognised as a set of international legal norms in the UDHR and in two related treaties, which are binding on Governments when they ratify them.