The United Nations human rights system in the Arab world

Abstract

This text aims to explain the significant importance of promoting and defending human rights as an inevitable part of human life. The Arab region is quite a problematic area for implementing human rights law and acting or imposing restrictions on supranational level. The United Nations (UN) is the main actor on the international scene that is concerned and highly involved in the human rights distribution, observation, and implementation. 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 Member States 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". The first chapter - The United Nations Human Rights System - describes the historical development of the organization, its methodology and capacity for resolving problems. The text also explains the core nature of the human rights as worldwide common values important in the every-day life on one side, and capable to save human lives and protect from torture on the other. This chapter overviews some of the key texts - declarations, conventions and agreement that have been ratified and used as guiding lights by the human rights preserving organizations and activists, and have been ratified in the domestic laws of numerous states. Chapter Two - Human Rights in the Arab world - shows the human rights problems and achievements in the Middle East and North African regions. The Arab World requires some special attention for its religion - the Islam that has influenced Arab traditions, values, state organization an laws. This chapter offers a comparison between the two "worlds" - the Arab and the Atlantic - being completely different in political, economic, religious, ethnic and cultural aspects. Human rights as a moral value appreciate and esteem human diversity and promote respect and dignity to every individual human life. The third chapter - Human Rights in the Reality - Successes and Failures - shows the current successes and failures for implementing human rights and international human rights laws, presented throughout short case studies of Arab countries concluding the violations reported during the past three years by the official international organizations observing human rights in the region.