Rule of Law and Human Rights: Analysis of International Standards and Case Law

The EU's human rights policies and actions have two main components: protecting the fundamental rights of EU citizens and promoting human rights around the world. One of the aspects that the UN focuses on is the relationship between democracy and human rights, as the organisation upholds the importance of equal political participation of citizens of its states and full respect for human rights, including the recognition, protection and promotion. As defined by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), human rights are norms that recognise and protect the dignity of all people, meaning they apply to everyone, without distinction of race, gender, education, political opinion, sexual orientation or any other type of moral judgement. The realisation of human rights also obliges states to be responsible for protecting these norms and prohibits certain acts that violate them. Human rights can be said to be one of the greatest achievements of mankind. One of the most important human rights documents is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed in 1948 at the UN General Assembly. Consisting of 30 articles, the Declaration formalises all the theoretical developments made earlier on civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. Another innovation of the Declaration was the inclusion of human rights in the universal character, becoming the rights of all peoples. Thus, for the UN, human rights "are universal legal guarantees that protect individuals and groups from acts and omissions by governments that violate human dignity"3. Human rights are fundamental and therefore inalienable human rights, i.e. those rights whose violation would lead to an attack on the very essence of humanity. For this reason, it is important that everyone is aware of and knows about human rights, their content and the forms of protection provided for them, as everyone should be able to enjoy their fundamental rights for the sole purpose of living in peace, without distinction. Human rights, democracy and the rule of law create an environment in which countries can promote development, protect people from discrimination and ensure equal access to justice for all.