What are human rights?

Human Rights are the basic rights that belong to everyone simply because they are human beings. These fundamental rights apply to everyone equally regardless of gender, sex, age, sexual orientation or any other status. First established through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948, today human rights are codified in legally binding covenants such as the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Human Rights are enforced by international courts such as the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, the African Commission, the European Court of Human Rights or the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Remember, states have the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights, but many fail to live up to their obligations

Interested in a career in human rights? There are a number of websites that provide useful information. We recommend this one.