Human Rights

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world "

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."  ...

• Full Text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

What's New

• Trafficking in Persons Report 2011 l Turkey
• Amnesty International Report 2009
• Human Rights Watch Report 2009
• Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2006
• Privacy and Human Rights: An International Survey of Privacy Laws and Developments 2005
• International Religious Freedom Report 2010 l Turkey
• Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2010 l Turkey

Background Notes and Key Documents

• Constitution of the United States
• Rights of the People
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights  (United Nations)
• Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) Final Act, Helsinki, 1975
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• International Crime Threat Assessment
• Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
• United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.
• Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners.
• Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment
• European Convention on Human Rights (4 Nov 1950) and all Protocols
• Vienna Declaration 
• American Convention on Human Rights 
• Convention on the Rights of the Child 

Legislation

• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 660 U.N.T.S. 195, entered into force Jan. 4, 1969.
• Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty

Publications

Human Rights in Brief 
In all civilized nations, attempts are made to defi ne and buttress human rights. The core of the concept is the same everywhere: Human rights are the rights that one has simply because one is human. They are universal and equal. Human rights are also inalienable. They may be suspended, rightly or wrongly, at various places and times, but the idea of inherent rights cannot be taken away. One can no more lose these rights than one can stop being a human being.

Links to Related U.S. Government Resources

US Department of State
Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor  (DRL)
The lead U.S. Government agency responsible for promoting democracy and human rights.

US Department of Labor
The lead U.S. Government agency responsible for promoting democracy and human rights.The U.S. Department of Labor is charged with preparing the American workforce for new and better jobs, and ensuring the adequacy of America's workplaces. It's responsibilities include protecting workers' wages, health and safety, employment and pension rights; and promoting equal employment opportunity.

National Endowment for Democracy
The Endowment is guided by the belief that freedom is a universal human aspiration that can be realized through the development of democratic institutions, procedures, and values. Governed by an independent, nonpartisan board of directors, the NED makes hundreds of grants each year to support prodemocracy groups in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

USAID Democracy and Governance
As the primary channel for U.S. foreign assistance in the developing world, USAID has taken a leading role in promoting and consolidating democracy worldwide. Expanding democracy improves individual opportunity for prosperity and improved well-being, thus contributing to the more traditional goals of the Agency. The strategic long-term domestic and foreign policy objectives of the United States are best served by enlarging the community of democratic nations worldwide.

Links to Human Rights Document Databases

• University of Minnesota: Human Rights Documents and Materials

Other Web Pages

• Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
• Center for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University
• Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE): United States Helsinki Commission
• Committee to Protect Journalists
• Freedom House
• People's Decade of Human Rights Education
• The Religious Freedom Page
• U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

This site is produced and maintained by the American Information Resource Center in Ankara. Links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views  contained therein.

Last updated on December 28, 2010.