Human Rights, UDHR, and International Law: A Comprehensive Overview

This assignment delves into the significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in safeguarding human rights globally. It explores the historical context of the UDHR, its impact on international law, and its role in establishing fundamental human rights. The assignment addresses the challenges faced in protecting these rights, such as discrimination, limitations on freedom of speech, and the limitations of the UN's Veto Power. It analyzes the need to strengthen the UDHR's implementation, emphasizing the importance of educating individuals about their rights, holding governments accountable, and promoting a culture of human rights protection to achieve the goals of the UDHR and ensure a more just world.

It has been developed through ages that although people have different religion,
civilization and political setup but every person has moral bonds and duties to other
human beings and there is nothing more influential text than Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) in this regard. It has developed from the ashes of WW-II in 1948
with the promise of not obeying any atrocities which lead to violations of human rights. It
has provided basis for numerous international treaties and national laws which aim to
protect human rights. The aims of the UDHR cannot be achieved until the fundamental
rights of freedom of speech, education and health, civil, economic, political as well as
social rights recognized by it are adopted, protected and fulfilled by all the states and
governments.
Despite the efforts of United Nations (UN), there several violations of human
rights and challenges for their protection. These challenges include discrimination for the
women, limitation on freedom of speech, lack of protection of the poor’s rights, torture,
lack of unfair trial etc. which require us to think about new methods to ensure the
protection of such rights and to maintain peace which may include educating the people
in relation to their fundamental rights, enabling the states to handle their indigenous
violations of human rights or threat thereto and by identifying and highlighting the
abusers within the governments in the international forums and enriching the general
public with awareness of the their rights against such abusers and their responsibilities in
this regard.
Keeping in view the recent security crises and challenge of maintaining global as
well as domestic peace, the problem faced by UN was the Veto Power of the permanent
members. For example, the restrictions faced by UN Security Council to act on behalf of
Syrian people for their protection has cost huge damage to the protection of lives and
ensuring peace as well as securing other states from such threats. Therefore, it is a need of

the
time to limit the Veto Power of permanent members.
When we see the current situation of human rights around the world we can see
that despite the landmark efforts and achievements of the UDHR since 1948, the
fundamental human rights are not protected in all the states and there is still need of
ensuring the human rights recognized by UDHR as well as its covenants and conventions
in the laws and the daily life. To meet this purpose, pressure should be inserted on the
governments to abide by their responsibilities towards the protection of human rights. The
development can be made by focusing of the individual’s rights. I am convinced that
UDHR is fit to achieve its purpose but there is always need to strengthen it. As long as we
are making attention and insisting vigilantly to comply with the standards of human rights
and identify the abuse to such rights and promote the culture of protecting fundamental
human rights we will be able to achieve the goals of UDHR.
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