Human Rights Center Viasna congratulates you on the Human Rights Day!
Dear colleagues, friends,
like-minded persons and opponents, visitors of the website of the Human Rights
Center Viasna! We congratulate you on the Human
Rights Day!
The contemporary international human rights came into existence for the first
time within the framework of the United Nations Organization in 1948, after the
adoption of the International Declaration of Human Rights. Only after it human
rights became universal for the first time.
The adoption of the Universal Declaration was predefined by the results of World
War II and the establishment of the UN. The war claimed more than 50 million s
of lives, ruined and devastated whole countries. The Nazi regime fought not
only with different countries, but also with certain social groups. Jews, Roma,
homosexuals and invalids were considered as socially defective people by the
Nazis. Their discrimination was legalized by the adoption of the appropriate
laws.
The scope of the repressions that followed it proved the necessity about the international
protection of human rights. Such protection was to be based on an international
organization capable of reacting to the unlawful use of force actions and
watching the abidance by the human rights norms in the national legislation of
different countries. The UN Charter of 1945 declares that the UN must work for
the strengthening of peace and cooperation between the states and protect the
human rights. However, it didn’t define the notion of human rights. A special
commission was established for working out such a definition.
The commission consisted of 18 state parties of the UN that came from all
continents and had different religious and political views, including Belarus. After
two years of negotiations the commission adopted the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights on 10 December 1948, which is considered to be the most important
document that has been ever worked out by the UN. The delegations of 48 out of
56 countries voted for this document, the rest abstained (including Belarus). However,
not a single state voted against this document.
The Universal Declaration consists of 30 articles that provide the definitions
of human rights. After its adoption, human rights became a part of the
international legislation and a global conception. It was the first time when
the rules defining the way the states must treat their citizens were worked
out.
