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What are universal human rights: list and definition

Human Rights are born under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) and are the result of a long tradition that has its roots more directly in movements such as the French Enlightenment of the 18th century or historical episodes such as the American Revolution and the subsequent declaration of United States independence. Today, they have evolved to create a very specific legal body that constitutes one of the greatest achievements that humanity has made throughout all of history. If you want to know what Universal Human Rights are , and go a little deeper into its history and its future, continue reading this AgroCorrn article and we will tell you about it.

What are Universal Human Rights

Universal Human Rights are a series of fundamental rights that are recognized for all human beings simply because they are. In other words, there can be no situation in which a human person is legally deprived of any of these rights, since it is a series of rights common to any person , which gives meaning to the character of ” universal ”.

In this way, it is a series of rights that affect human beings and, furthermore, everyone without exception, regardless of any characteristic, whether due to sex, religion, race, origin, ideology, etc.

What are the recognized Universal Human Rights and where are they?

Although you can find different laws and bodies that refer to various treaties and legal forms related to human rights, when talking about Universal Human Rights, they are referring to a document approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Paris, on December 10, 1948. This document is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and it is the official document, approved by the UN, which includes the rights that would fall into this category that, as mentioned, are they consider the most fundamental rights of all those possessed by any human being.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is made up of a Preamble and a total of 30 articles , which contain the Universal Human Rights itself. The initial Preamble constitutes an exposition of those reasons and objectives that lead to the promulgation of the UDHR, as well as the fundamental source to carry out the interpretation of the 30 articles that appear below. The 30 articles included in the UDHR are divided into groups, and each group deals with a set of rights that have elements in common with each other.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Summary

All Universal Human Rights are detailed throughout the 30 articles that make up the UDHR. The rights are presented in detail in articles that appear in a row in the UDHR, so that different groups of rights can be found that are related in common with each other.

Articles 1 and 2:

These are the articles that collect the most fundamental rights of all . They state that:

  • Human beings, by birth, are free and equal to each other, both in dignity and rights.
  • That there can be no discrimination between one and the other for any reason (race, color, language, sex, religion, etc.).
  • Mention is made of the obligation of fraternal behavior between one and the other.

Articles 3 to 11:

These articles collect the rights associated with personal character . These articles contain the most important individual rights of all, such as the right:

  • To the life
  • To freedom
  • To safety
  • The prohibition of slavery in any of its forms.
  • The recognition of the legal entity.
  • The prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, etc.

Articles 12 to 17:

These articles collect human rights that refer to the relationship that the person establishes with the community . Among the most important rights are:

  • The right to freedom to leave and return to any country.
  • The right to property.

Articles from 18 to 21:

These articles include rights related to thought , conscience, freedom of belief and religion, as well as rights related to political freedoms.

Articles from 22 to 27:

These articles recognize human rights relative to economic, social and cultural rights . In this sense, they deserve a special mention:

  • The right to food.
  • The right to housing.
  • The right to dress.
  • The right to medical assistance, among others.

Articles from 28 to 30:

These last articles deal with the manner and limits with which rights should be exercised, so that they establish a framework that allows guaranteeing social order at both national and international level in the application of the UDHR.

If you want to read more articles similar to What are universal human rights: list and definition , we recommend that you enter our Human Rights category .

Maria Anderson
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Hello, I am a blogger specialized in environmental, health and scientific dissemination issues in general. The best way to define myself as a blogger is by reading my texts, so I encourage you to do so. Above all, if you are interested in staying up to date and reflecting on these issues, both on a practical and informative level.

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