Human Rights are usually defined as those rights which all humans possess - for example, the right to life and the right to equal treatment.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) set a common international standard.

The Declaration is not binding international law, but is accepted by all countries around the world. It states that all people are to be treated equally and with respect.

Since then, the United Nations has made many legally binding international human rights conventions. When countries sign these conventions, they are obliged to make laws in their own country that include the same principles.

International human rights conventions include:

• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Convention Concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation (ILO 111)
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
• Declaration of the Rights of the Child
• Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons
• Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons
• Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief
• Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights