Human rights

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Eleanor_Roosevelt_and_Human_Rights_Declaration

“A United States Senate report has confirmed what the international community has long believed – that there was a clear policy orchestrated at a high level within the Bush Administration which allowed to commit gross violations of international human rights law.”

This was a lead by the UN Special Rapporteur on counter terrorism and human rights, dated December the 9th, 2014. Just one day before the International Day of Human Rights. Ironic, isn’t it?

It was sixty-six years ago when the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. World War II had just ended, and the will to never allow again the atrocities that had made that war so terrible was shared by the whole international community. The Commission on Human Rights was made up of 18 members from various political, cultural and religious backgrounds. Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, chaired the UDHR drafting committee. With her were René Cassin of France, who composed the first draft of the Declaration, the Committee Rapporteur Charles Malik of Lebanon, Vice-Chairman Peng Chung Chang of China, and John Humphrey of Canada, Director of the UN’s Human Rights Division, who prepared the Declaration’s blueprint. It took them two years to draft the entire text. Thirty beautiful articles conceived to make a change, to make a difference.

Over the years, the European Institutions have put a lot of effort into the fight for human rights. A specific institution was set up in 1959: the European Court of Human Rights. This Court monitors respect for the human rights of 800 million Europeans in the 47 Council of Europe member States that have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights.

As terminologists, we believe that such a complex and delicate matter deserves a clear and precise vocabulary. In order to have the most accurate legislation, a rich terminology had to be developed.Therefore, IATE has a ‘Human rights’ domain, in which you will find thousands of terms related to rights and freedoms, together with references to reliable sources, definitions and other useful information. Here you can find some terms we selected from the IATE domain of ‘Human rights’, where the European Parliament has the main responsibility.Human rights IATE

Human rights infringements, despite the global and European efforts in that field, are still on the news. Many are the countries all over the world where the universal declaration is not fully applied, even within the European Union. Proper terminology can help social awareness and the definition of principles in this field.

Because this what human rights are supposed to stand for: pointing out that all human beings are the same, no matter their religion, ethnicity, origin.They all share the same universal rights and fundamental freedoms.

By Sabina Grixoni

Editor and Social Media Strategist

Communication Trainee at TermCoord

and Matteo Poles

Social Media Specialist

Communication Trainee at TermCoord