Human Rights and Human Rights Violations, Psychological Aspects of

Abstract

Abstract The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted on December 10, 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations is the major reference document for international human rights. The UDHR and the subsequent International Covenants on Human Rights of 1966 (on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights) represent the International Bill of Human Rights. In these documents, two generations or dimensions of human rights have been distinguished. The first dimension consists of civil and political human rights, for example the prohibition of discrimination, the right to life, the prohibition of torture or inhuman treatment, the right to freedom of thought, of opinion and expression, the right to seek asylum. The second dimension is made up of economic, social, and cultural human rights, for example the right to work, protection against unemployment, the right to equal pay for equal work, the right to remuneration ensuring an existence worthy of human dignity, the right to a standard of living adequate for one's health and well‐being, including food, housing, and medical care, and the right to education. In addition, a third generation of human rights has been discussed in the United Nations but not yet adopted. It includes mainly the right of peoples to peace, the right to development, and the right to a healthy environment.