Human Rights are the rights that all individuals have by the simple fact of being human.
Human rights are based on respect for individuality and freedom, regardless of a person's social status, color, gender or religion.
The notion of a universal right has been present since antiquity, but it was in the French Revolution that this principle was put into practice.
Human Rights serve to guarantee that every human person will have their life and choices respected. Likewise, it ensures equal treatment for all human beings.
These principles of equality were expressed in 30 articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, launched on December 10, 1948, by the United Nations (UN).
Human Rights are the recognition that every person is free to make their own choices. In this way, they guarantee that a human being can choose his religion, ideology, place of residence, without the interference of a higher power or society.
Universal recognition of equality, however, was not always understood this way. In slave societies, enslaved people were seen as merchandise and inferior to those who were free.
Even today, not all nations guarantee equal rights to citizens.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a document that summarizes which rights are valid for all human beings. It entered into force on December 10, 1948.
The bases of the document are the defense against oppression and discrimination. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all people are equal and have the right to dignity and freedom, regardless of the individual's race, color, gender, nationality, religion or politics.
The document also guarantees the right to life, freedom of expression, in addition to education, housing and work.
History of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
On October 24, 1945, at the end of World War II, the United Nations released a formal document to safeguard the rights of future generations.
The main objective was to avoid the repetition of the facts that occurred in the conflict, such as the loss of fundamental rights by Jews, homosexuals, communists, gypsies, etc., which resulted in the killing of these groups in the concentration camps.
The first draft of the declaration was presented at the UN General Assembly in 1946 and passed on to the Commission on Human Rights in order to have a universal character.
In 1947, representatives from eight countries were responsible for drafting the document in a committee coordinated by Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), widow of American President Franklin Roosevelt.
Delegates from 50 countries signed the final text and the Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948.
It is important to remember that all those countries that are part of the UN must accept the Declaration of Human Rights and incorporate them into its principles.
Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has a total of 30 articles.
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Endowed with reason and conscience, they must act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
All human beings are entitled to the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made based on the political, legal or international status of the country or territory of which the person is born, whether that country or territory is independent, under guardianship, autonomous or subject to any limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3
All people have the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one can be held in bondage or in servitude; slavery and the slave trade in any form are prohibited.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Every human being has the right to be recognized everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled, without any distinction, to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8
Every human being has the right to receive from the competent national courts an effective remedy for acts that violate the fundamental rights recognized by the constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one will be arbitrarily arrested, detained or exiled.
Article 10
Every human being has the right, in full equality, to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and duties or the basis of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11
1. Every human being accused of a criminal act has the right to be presumed innocent until his guilt has been proven in accordance with the law, in a public trial in which he has been assured all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one can be held responsible for any action or omission which, at the time, did not constitute a crime under national or international law. Neither shall a penalty be imposed stronger than that which, at the time of the commission, was applicable to the criminal act.
Article 12
No one will be subject to interference with his private life, family, home or correspondence, nor to an attack on his honor and reputation. Every human being is entitled to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13
1. Every human being has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
2. Every human being has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to it.
Article 14
1. Every human being victim of persecution has the right to seek and enjoy asylum in other countries.
2. This right cannot be invoked in the event of persecution legitimately motivated by common law crimes or by acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
1. Every human being has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality, nor of the right to change his nationality.
Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any restriction of race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and found a family. They enjoy equal rights in relation to marriage, its duration and its dissolution.
2. The marriage will only be valid with the free and full consent of the betrothed.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental nucleus of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17
1. Every human being has the right to own property, alone or in partnership with others.
2. No one will be arbitrarily deprived of their property.
Article 18
Every human being has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change religion or belief and freedom to manifest that religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship in public or in private.
Article 19
Every human being has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; that right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20
1. Every human being has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one can be compelled to be part of an association.
Article 21
1. Every human being has the right to take part in the government of his country directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Every human being has an equal right of access to the public service of his country.
3. The will of the people will be the basis of government authority; this will shall be expressed in periodic and legitimate elections, by universal suffrage, by secret ballot or equivalent process that ensures freedom to vote.
Article 22
Every human being, as a member of society, has the right to social security, to the realization, through national efforts, through international cooperation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable to their dignity and freedom. development of your personality.
Article 23
1. Every human being has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable working conditions and to protection against unemployment.
2. Every human being, without any distinction, has the right to equal remuneration for equal work.
3. Every human being who works has the right to just and satisfactory remuneration that will ensure him and his family an existence compatible with human dignity and to which, if necessary, other means of social protection may be added.
4. Every human being has the right to organize unions and join them to protect their interests.
Article 24
Every human being has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25
1. Every human being has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, illness, disability, widowhood, old age or other loss of livelihood in circumstances beyond your control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, born in or out of wedlock, will enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26
1. Every human being has the right to education. Instruction will be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental grades. Elementary instruction will be mandatory. Technical-professional education will be accessible to all, as will higher education, which is based on merit.
2. Instruction will be oriented towards the full development of the human personality and the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The instruction will promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and racial or religious groups and will support United Nations peacekeeping activities.
3. Parents have the right to choose the type of instruction that will be given to their children.
Article 27
1. Every human being has the right to participate freely in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific progress and its benefits.
2. Every human being has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests arising from any scientific literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28
Every human being is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29
1. Every human being has duties towards the community, in which the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of their rights and freedoms, every human being shall be subject only to the limitations determined by law, exclusively for the purpose of ensuring due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and to satisfy the just demands of morality, order public health and the well-being of a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may under no circumstances be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as recognizing any State, group or person the right to engage in any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
History of Human Rights
The Cylinder of Cyrus, king of Persia, is considered to be the first document that guaranteed the rights of a people. In this document, Cyrus restores the cult of the gods, and frees and lets go the people who had been enslaved.
In turn, the Romans incorporated into their Law the notion of universal laws, as these should be obeyed throughout the Empire, not only in Rome.
Later, Christianity would bring the concept that human beings are equal and, therefore, that slavery should not exist, for example.
In the Middle Ages, English nobles revolted against King John's abuse of power. Thus, they drafted a series of laws against royal power, known as the Magna Carta (1215), which claimed the power of the nobility over that of the king.
However, it was only with Enlightenment ideas that the idea of rights valid for all human beings, whatever their origin, gained strength. The United States Declaration of Independence was the first official document to incorporate this idea.
Then, the French Revolution launches the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which states that rights are for everyone and not just for a privileged few.
See also :Enlightenment
What are Human Rights?
Human rights include the right to life, liberty, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work, a fair trial and education.
Therefore, human rights reject everything that is against human freedom such as slavery, torture, humiliating treatment and trials without legal guarantees.
Characteristics of Human Rights
Human rights have the following characteristics:
- Universals :valid for all human beings;
- Indivisible :all rights must apply, none excluded;
- Interdependents :each right depends on the other and generates a complement.
Human Rights in Brazil
Brazil has been a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since 1948. This means that the country has committed itself to observing and complying with the provisions of this document.
In this way, when the government does not guarantee the safety of an individual, whether innocent or criminal, for example, it means that he violates an international guideline.
In order to promote the values of Human Rights in the country, the Brazilian government has the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights. The holder, in 2020, is Pastor Damares Alves.
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