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UNITED NATIONS
❑ The consequences of World War II and the damages sustained there
from can undoubtedly be said to be the reason behind the creation
and formation of the United Nation Organization.
❑ Representatives of 50 nations met in San Francisco April-June 1945
to complete the Charter of the United Nations.
❑ The United Nations came into existence on October 24, 1945, after
29 nations had ratified the Charter.
HUMAN RIGHTS
❑ Human rights are rights we have simply because we exist as human
beings - they are not granted by any state. These universal rights are
inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic
origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They range
from the most fundamental - the right to life - to those that make
life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work,
health, and liberty.
THE CORE SYSTEM OF HUMAN RIGHTS
PROMOTION AND PROTECTION UNDER
THE UNITED NATIONS HAS A DUAL BASIS:
❑ There are nine core international human rights treaties. Each treaty
establishes a committee of experts to monitor implementation of
the treaty provisions by countries that have ratified the treaty.
Treaty Monitoring Bodies.
❑ The human rights treaty bodies are committees of independent
experts that monitor implementation of the core international
human rights treaties.
1. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is the
body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by its State parties.
2. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is the body
of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by its States parties.
3. The Human Rights Committee is the body of independent experts that monitors
implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by
its State parties.
4. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women.
5.The Committee Against Torture (CAT) is the body of 10 independent experts that
monitors implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by its State parties.
6.The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the body of 18 Independent
experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its
State parties.
7.The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members
of their Families (CMW) is the body that monitors implementation of the International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of
Their Families by its State parties.
8.The Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) is the body which monitors the
implementation of the Convention for the Protection of all persons against Enforced
Disappearance by the States parties.
9.The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is the body which
monitors implementation of the Convention by the States Parties.
CONCLUSION
1. The UN’s human rights institutions, principally the OHCHR, have been
supportive and have provided technical assistance for building human rights
institutions. However, massive violations continue to occur in the course of
internal armed conflict, especially when fed by xenophobic nationalism and
religious fanaticism. For instance, in 1994 the UN failed to act to halt the
genocide perpetrated in Rwanda, resulting in 800,000 deaths.
2. Despite frustrations with the UN as a large bureaucracy that moves slowly and
sometimes is unresponsive to urgent human rights problems, or is constrained by
the conflicting interests of the member states that provide political supervision. In
summary, the Charter-‐based and treaty-‐basedprocedures have evolved to the
point of forcing governments to address a remarkable range of human rights
problems, sometimes with real results.