UN Human Rights Starting Points
Children from the UN International School in New York viewing a copy of the UN Declaration on Human Rights in 1950. From un.org.
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UN Human Rights Topic Page: UN.org's information page for human rights. Includes links to relevant UN bodies, human rights-related UN news, and more.
- Universal Periodic Review of Human RightsA multi-year review of each member country's human rights record. Undertaken by the UN Human Rights Council.
- Human Rights DayAn annual celebration to promote awareness of human rights on December 10, the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Human Rights Publications
- A Brief Guide to Finding UN Human Rights DocumentsOffice of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ... A Brief Guide to Finding UN Human Rights Documents.
- UNHCR, The State of the World's RefugeesA global report on refugees issued in 2012.
- UN OHCHR Fact SheetsReports on various human rights topics, published by the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights. Topics include human trafficking, rights to water/food/housing, and indigenous peoples.
UN Bodies and Human Rights
Official United Nations bodies that deal with human rights issues include:
- Third Committee of the General Assembly: provides a forum for member states to discuss social, cultural, and humanitarian affairs. GA resolutions relating to human rights usually originate in this committee or are referred here.
- Human Rights Council (HRC) and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR): the Council conducts the Universal Periodic Review of human rights in each member state and establishes Commissions of Inquiry to investigate possible human rights violations. The Commissioner is the "principal human rights official of the United Nations."
- Other Human Rights bodies established under OHCHR. Includes various topic-based committees, such as the Committee Against Torture and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
- UN Women: Officially named "the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women," UN Women coordinates United Nations resources on women's issues.
