ELPIDA Course - English

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS

Thousands of organizations have been created around the world for defence of human rights and are working on this field. They can be official bodies of the states, non-governmental organizations or activist groups. These organizations are usually specialized in defending specific rights and in implementing programs at local or national level. We chose to introduce 3 of these organizations, but you certainly know more.

ACTIVITY

List 5 organizations that you know are active in defending rights. Focus on organizations active at local or national level.

United Nations Organization

The UN is an international organization formally established in 1945 and currently consist of 189 sovereign states. Its purpose is to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations between nations, to promote social progress, better living standards and human rights. Its Member States are bound by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, an international treaty that includes the rights and obligations of members of the international community. Its organs are: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trust Council, the International Court of Justice and the Secretariat (see also www.un.org). 

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe (CoE) is an international, intergovernmental organization, consisting of 47 European member states and headquartered in Strasbourg, France. It was founded in 1949 and its aims are to:

- Protect human rights, democratic pluralism and the rule of law

- Promote information and encourage the development of European cultural identity and diversity

- Find solutions to problems faced by European society (discrimination against minorities, xenophobia, intolerance, environmental protection, human cloning, AIDS, drugs, cross-border crime, etc.) in order to help consolidate democratic stability in Europe by supporting political, legal and constitutional reform (see also https://www.coe.int).

Amnesty International

Amnesty International was founded in 1961 by Peter Benenson as a global, independent, voluntary movement with 7 million members, activists and supporters at present, with structures and national departments and over 1.800 professional executives who are all fighting together for respect to human rights and to stop their violations.

Their vision is for every human being to enjoy all human rights referred to in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards (see also https://www.amnesty.org).

Summary

In this section you have learnt what human rights and their characteristics are. You have also distinguished a series of rights that are at risk around the world and some of the organizations fighting for their defence.

In the next section, you will see the rights of people with disabilities.

ACTIVITY

Why do you think there should be a separate convention on the rights of children or of people with disabilities?