Protection of human rights
It is important to have legislation to protect our human rights and enable everyone to live free from discrimination. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) comprises a broad range of rights which all people in the world should be entitled to. As it states in Article 2 'everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.'
Although the Declaration is not a legally binding document, it has inspired more than 60 human rights instruments which together constitute an international standard of human rights. These instruments include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which are legally binding treaties. Together with the Universal Declaration, they constitute the International Bill of Rights.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has the world record for being the most translated document in the world. It is available to view on the UNCHR website in over 300 different languages and dialects. Have a look at it here in your own language:
www.ohchr.org