United Nations Human Rights Programme

3 Pages 679 Words

United Nations Human Rights Programme
Organizational structure
image version l text version
The concern of the United Nations with the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms stems directly from the realization by the international community that "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", and from the resultant pledge of States Members of the United Nations "to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms".
Today, the United Nations works to promote and protect human rights through a variety of approaches. Through the United Nations Technical Cooperation Programme in the Field of Human Rights, States may receive, at their request, technical assistance in the promotion and protection of human rights. Technical cooperation projects are undertaken in specific countries and also at the regional and international levels. Such projects might include training courses for, inter alia, members of the armed forces, police forces or the legal profession, and advisory services for the incorporation of international human rights norms and standards into national legislation. Financed mainly by voluntary contributions, technical cooperation is a quickly expanding area of the United Nations Human Rights Programme.
Increasingly, technical cooperation projects are implemented through the establishment of a long-term presence in the countries concerned. In some cases, field presences may also include a monitoring component alongside technical cooperation activities.
At the institutional level, six committees established under the principal international human rights treaties are currently in operation. The main function of the committees, also referred to as treaty monitoring bodies (conve...