DEFEND OUR RIGHTS INITIATIVE
Defend Our Rights Initiative
(DORI) is founded to help the less privileged in the society for justice and empowerment
where needed. Injustice is everywhere, the need for an advocate of justice
cannot be over-emphasized. DORI
comprises people of integrity which cuts across different spheres of life from
religion to professions. It is aimed at
offering pro-bonus services to the needy and less privilege in the society.
What Are Human Rights?
Human rights are rights
inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity,
language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life
and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression,
the right to work and education, and many more.
Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.
International Human
Rights Law
International human
rights law lays down the obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or
to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and
fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.
One of the great
achievements of the United Nations is the creation of a comprehensive body of
human rights law—a universal and internationally protected code to which all
nations can subscribe and all people aspire. The United Nations has defined a
broad range of internationally accepted rights, including civil, cultural,
economic, political and social rights. It has also established mechanisms to
promote and protect these rights and to assist states in carrying out their
responsibilities.
The foundations of this
body of law are the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly in 1945 and 1948,
respectively. Since then, the United
Nations has gradually expanded human rights law to encompass specific standards
for women, children, persons with disabilities, minorities and other vulnerable
groups, who now possess rights that protect them from discrimination that had
long been common in many societies.
Universal Declaration
of Human Rights
The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of
human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural
backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by
the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 by General
Assembly resolution 217 A (III) as a common standard of achievements for all
peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human
rights to be universally protected. Since its adoption in 1948, the UDHR has
been translated into more than 500 languages - the most translated document in
the world - and has inspired the constitutions of many newly independent States
and many new democracies. The UDHR, together with the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols (on the complaints
procedure and on the death penalty) and the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol, form the so-called International
Bill of Human Rights.
Economic, social and
cultural rights
The International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entered into force in 1976.
The human rights that the Covenant seeks to promote and protect include:
·
the right to work in just and favourable
conditions;
·
the right to social protection, to an
adequate standard of living and to the highest attainable standards of physical
and mental well-being;
·
the right to education and the enjoyment
of benefits of cultural freedom and scientific progress.
Civil and political
rights
The International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its First Optional Protocol entered
into force in 1976. The Second Optional Protocol was adopted in 1989.
The Covenant deals with
such rights as freedom of movement; equality before the law; the right to a
fair trial and presumption of innocence; freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; freedom of opinion and expression; peaceful assembly; freedom of association;
participation in public affairs and elections; and protection of minority
rights. It prohibits arbitrary deprivation of life; torture, cruel or degrading
treatment or punishment; slavery and forced labour; arbitrary arrest or
detention; arbitrary interference with privacy; war propaganda; discrimination;
and advocacy of racial or religious hatred.
Human Rights
Conventions
A series of
international human rights treaties and other instruments adopted since 1945
have expanded the body of international human rights law. They include the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948),
the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (1965), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (1979), the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(1989) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006),
among others.
Human Rights Council
The Human Rights
Council, established on 15 March 2006 by the General Assembly and reporting
directly to it, replaced the 60-year-old UN Commission on Human Rights as the
key UN intergovernmental body responsible for human rights. The Council is made
up of 47 State representatives and is tasked with strengthening the promotion
and protection of human rights around the globe by addressing situations of
human rights violations and making recommendations on them, including
responding to human rights emergencies.
The most innovative
feature of the Human Rights Council is the Universal Periodic Review. This
unique mechanism involves a review of the human rights records of all 193 UN
member states once every four years. The Review is a cooperative, state-driven
process, under the auspices of the Council, which provides the opportunity for
each state to present measures taken and challenges to be met to improve the
human rights situation in their country and to meet their international
obligations. The Review is designed to ensure universality and equality of
treatment for every country.
UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights
The United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights exercises principal responsibility for UN human
rights activities. The High Commissioner is mandated to respond to serious
violations of human rights and to undertake preventive action.
The Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the focal point for United Nations
human rights activities. It serves as the secretariat for the Human Rights
Council, the treaty bodies (expert committees that monitor treaty compliance)
and other UN human rights organs. It also undertakes human rights field
activities.
Most of the core human
rights treaties have an oversight body which is responsible for reviewing the
implementation of that treaty by the countries that have ratified it. Individuals, whose rights have been violated
can file complaints directly to Committees overseeing human rights treaties.
Human Rights and the UN
System
Human rights is a
cross-cutting theme in all UN policies and programmes in the key areas of peace
and security, development, humanitarian assistance, and economic and social
affairs. As a result, virtually every UN body and specialized agency is
involved to some degree in the protection of human rights. Some examples are
the right to development, which is at the core of the Sustainable Development
Goals; the right to food, championed by the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization, labour rights, defined and protected by the International Labour
Organization, gender equality, which is promulgated by UN Women, the rights of
children, indigenous peoples, and disabled persons.
Human Rights Day is
observed every year on 10 December.
For justice and
empowerment please contact us today
Tel: +2349130267878
Email: dorime@gmail.com
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