What Is the International Bill of Human Rights?

While the concept of human rights has existed for millennia, international
human rights law wasn’t established until the 1940s. It was the first time the
world recognized universal human rights and laid the groundwork for the
protection of those rights. That groundwork comes from the International
Bill of Rights, which consists of the Universal Declaration of Human
rights, two international covenants, and two optional protocols

Why the International Bill of Human Rights

matters
The treaties forming the International Bill of Human Rights have extensive
reach in international human rights law. Lawyers and judges invoke the
principles when making decisions and many constitutions are based on the
Bill, as well. Why are all the treaties important if they repeat many of the same
rights? The UDHR was groundbreaking, but it wasn’t legally binding. The
Covenants and Optional Protocols are. Is the Bill succeeding in its mission?
Critics are skeptical. Enforcement and accountability have always been
challenging for the United Nations. Ratifying a treaty hasn’t transformed
countries into utopias for human rights. There’s a gap between human rights
on paper and human rights in practice. The International Bill of Human Rights
still matters, but there’s a lot of work to be done to make its vision a reality

What’s included in these documents?

The first step: The Universal Declaration of

Human Rights
Developing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights wasn’t an easy
process. The UN Commission on Human Rights – with Eleanor Roosevelt as
the chair – argued over certain elements. South Africa, which still had
apartheid, obviously didn’t like the idea of racial equality. The USSR wanted
more focus on collective rights as opposed to individual rights. By the time the
vote came around in 1948, 48 countries voted in favor of the 30-article
document. Eight countries abstained, but none voted against it
Next steps: The International Covenants
The next parts of the International Bill of Rights didn’t come about until 1966
when the UN General Assembly adopted the International Covenant on
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights. These covenants had a similar process to the UDHR.
They’re separate documents because economic, social, and cultural rights are
considered “positive rights,” meaning these rights involve the freedom to do
something, which often requires State protections. The “negative” rights of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights represent freedom from
State interference.
The Optional Protocols
Many human rights treaties have Optional Protocols, which are separate
documents that countries who are party to the main treaty can sign, accede,
or ratify. The ICCPR’s first Optional Protocol establishes a way to deal with
complaints from individuals and groups claiming the rights in the treaty have
been violated. It entered into force in 1976 with the main treaty. As of 2020,
116 countries are State parties and therefore legally bound to the treaty. The
Second Optional Protocol focuses on the abolition of the death penalty. It
entered into force in 1991. As of 2021, 89 countries have acceded to or
ratified the second protocol, most recently Armenia, Angola, and the State of
Palestine.