Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is the fundamental starting point in the area of human rights protection. The UDHR was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1948. Although aspirational in nature, the UDHR holds weight with regard to the universality of certain fundamental human rights – the preamble delineates the Declaration as, ‘a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.’ However, as it is not a treaty it does not create legally binding obligations for countries.
The rights listed within the Declaration are generically worded and were later categorized into two distinct, legally binding Conventions: The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), thereby distinguishing between civil and political rights, on one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights, on the other, both of which were ratified by Pakistan. The UDHR, however, makes no such distinction. The UDHR, ICCPR and ICESCR combined are referred to as the ‘International Bill of Rights’. The UDHR has been the foundation for a range of other international agreements which are legally binding on the countries that ratify them.