Gale: Global Issues in Context, Human Rights

Ken C. (Canada)
35 words 25 learners

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  1. human right
    any basic freedom to which all people are entitled
    The inclination to protect the rights of fellow human beings is as old as civilization, but it was not until the mid-twentieth century that world leaders arrived at the modern-day concept of human rights—those internationally recognized rights that are due to every person, regardless of nation, culture, race, gender, age, or social position, that stand above cultural differences and must be respected and protected by all governments and all people.
  2. freedom of assembly
    the right to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances; guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution
    These are the rights to: life; liberty and security of person; protection against slavery; protection against torture and cruel and inhuman punishment; recognition as a person before the law; equal protection of the law; access to legal remedies for violations of rights; protection against arbitrary arrest, detention or exile; an independent and impartial judiciary; presumption of innocence; protection against ex post facto laws; protection of privacy, family, and home; freedom of movement a...
  3. nongovernmental organization
    an organization that is not part of the local or state or federal government
    After it was issued, the Commission on Human Rights, along with governments and nongovernmental organizations, mounted efforts to forge a binding covenant based on the rights established in the Declaration.
  4. Commission on Human Rights
    the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with human rights
    In 1947, the UN Commission on Human Rights was formed to draft an international human rights treaty that was more specific.
  5. right to liberty
    the right to be free
    At the core of the ECHR are eleven articles specifying member states' duties in regard to the protection of human rights: the obligation to respect human rights; the right to life; prohibition of torture; prohibition of slavery and forced labor; the right to liberty and security; the right to a fair trial; no punishment without legislation; the right to respect for private and family life; freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; freedom of expression; freedom of assembly and ass...
  6. freedom of thought
    the right to hold unpopular ideas
    These are the rights to: life; liberty and security of person; protection against slavery; protection against torture and cruel and inhuman punishment; recognition as a person before the law; equal protection of the law; access to legal remedies for violations of rights; protection against arbitrary arrest, detention or exile; an independent and impartial judiciary; presumption of innocence; protection against ex post facto laws; protection of privacy, family, and home; freedom of movement a...
  7. racial discrimination
    discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race
    South Africa abstained because of the Declaration's position on racial discrimination, and Saudi Arabia abstained because of its position on women's rights and the right to change religions.
  8. covenant
    an agreement between a god and the people
    After it was issued, the Commission on Human Rights, along with governments and nongovernmental organizations, mounted efforts to forge a binding covenant based on the rights established in the Declaration.
  9. ex post facto
    affecting things past
    These are the rights to: life; liberty and security of person; protection against slavery; protection against torture and cruel and inhuman punishment; recognition as a person before the law; equal protection of the law; access to legal remedies for violations of rights; protection against arbitrary arrest, detention or exile; an independent and impartial judiciary; presumption of innocence; protection against ex post facto laws; protection of privacy, family, and home; freedom of mov...
  10. discrimination
    unfair treatment of a person or group based on prejudice
    South Africa abstained because of the Declaration's position on racial discrimination, and Saudi Arabia abstained because of its position on women's rights and the right to change religions.
  11. convention
    the act of meeting formally
    Along with these comprehensive human rights acts, the United Nations and its specialized agencies have adopted and put into force conventions on more limited human rights-related subjects.
  12. Organization of American States
    an association including most countries in the western hemisphere; created in 1948 to promote military and economic and social and cultural cooperation
    Similarly, the Organization of American States (OAS), an association of thirty-five independent nations of North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean, has tried to establish inter-American institutions for the promotion of respect for human rights.
  13. United Nations
    an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security
    The United Nations (UN) was founded in 1945 amid a call for absolute international standards that could protect people everywhere from crimes against humanity.
  14. Botswana
    a landlocked republic in south-central Africa that became independent from British control in the 1960s
    The report commended many nations—including Botswana, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Uruguay—for their vocal support of human rights.
  15. OAS
    an association including most countries in the western hemisphere; created in 1948 to promote military and economic and social and cultural cooperation
    Similarly, the Organization of American States (OAS), an association of thirty-five independent nations of North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean, has tried to establish inter-American institutions for the promotion of respect for human rights.
  16. Bill of Rights
    a statement of fundamental freedoms and privileges
    The human rights principles first established in the Universal Declaration and the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which together are frequently referred to as the International Bill of Rights, have held up well into the twenty-first century.
  17. activism
    a policy of action to achieve a political or social goal
    He has been arrested several times before for his pro-democracy and pro-human rights activism.
  18. genocide
    systematic killing of a racial or cultural group
    Some examples are the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948; the Genocide Convention, 1948; the Convention on the Political Rights of Women, 1952; the Conventions on the Status of Refugees, 1951; the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, 1956, and the Convention on the Abolition of Forced Labor, 1957; the Discrimination Convention, 1958, and the Convention against Discrimination in Education, 1960; the Convention on Consent to ...
  19. international organization
    an international alliance involving many different countries
    This international concept of human rights arose in the aftermath of World War II (1939–45), when the horrors of the Holocaust, and its systematic extermination of six million Jews, as well as Romas, homosexuals, and the disabled, prompted world leaders to establish an international organization to promote peace and security.
  20. Zambia
    a republic in central Africa
    The report commended many nations—including Botswana, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Uruguay—for their vocal support of human rights.
  21. inalienable
    incapable of being repudiated or transferred to another
    The document begins with the statement 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.”
  22. Holocaust
    the mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime
    This international concept of human rights arose in the aftermath of World War II (1939–45), when the horrors of the Holocaust, and its systematic extermination of six million Jews, as well as Romas, homosexuals, and the disabled, prompted world leaders to establish an international organization to promote peace and security.
  23. violate
    fail to agree with; go against
    In 1959 the Council founded the European Court of Human Rights to ensure that member nations did not violate the ECHR when making and applying their own laws.
  24. infringement
    an act that disregards an agreement or a right
    While some governments wanted enforcement measures, others strongly opposed them as infringements on their sovereignty.
  25. Sierra Leone
    a republic in West Africa
    The report commended many nations—including Botswana, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Uruguay—for their vocal support of human rights.
  26. subversion
    the act of overthrowing or destroying, as a government
    He stands accused of subversion.
  27. Costa Rica
    a republic in Central America
    The report commended many nations—including Botswana, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Uruguay—for their vocal support of human rights.
  28. periodic
    happening or recurring at regular intervals
    It included a provision requiring governments to make periodic reports to a UN Human Rights Committee regarding the steps they had taken to secure the rights enumerated in the covenant.
  29. Liberia
    a republic in West Africa
    The report commended many nations—including Botswana, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Uruguay—for their vocal support of human rights.
  30. extermination
    the act of getting rid of by killing off
    This international concept of human rights arose in the aftermath of World War II (1939–45), when the horrors of the Holocaust, and its systematic extermination of six million Jews, as well as Romas, homosexuals, and the disabled, prompted world leaders to establish an international organization to promote peace and security.
  31. General Assembly
    the supreme deliberative assembly of the United Nations
    The Declaration was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948 without opposition, although several member nations abstained from voting.
  32. North Korea
    a communist country in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula; established in 1948
    In October 2009, a United Nations envoy to North Korea criticized the nation's human rights situation as "abysmal," noting that one-third of residents were going hungry even though the country was not poor.
  33. World War II
    a war between the Allies and the Axis from 1939 to 1945
    This international concept of human rights arose in the aftermath of World War II (1939–45), when the horrors of the Holocaust, and its systematic extermination of six million Jews, as well as Romas, homosexuals, and the disabled, prompted world leaders to establish an international organization to promote peace and security.
  34. solidarity
    a union of interests or purposes among members of a group
    Hundreds of people have signed Charter 08 to express solidarity with Liu, who was a leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy uprising in Beijing.
  35. South America
    a continent in the western hemisphere connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama
    Similarly, the Organization of American States (OAS), an association of thirty-five independent nations of North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean, has tried to establish inter-American institutions for the promotion of respect for human rights.
Created on Wed Dec 30 22:33:57 EST 2009

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