Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 217A at its 3rd session in Paris on 10 December 1948. The Declaration consists of 30 articles affirming an individual's rights which, although not legally binding in themselves, have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, economic transfers, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions, and other laws.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
The UNHCHR is the umbrella organization of the United Nations charged with monitoring and addressing human rights issues globally. International human rights law is governed largely by treaties. The UNHCHR provides a starting point for locating the various Human Rights Treaty Bodies (charged with monitoring treaty compliance).
International Human Rights Treaties and Bodies
There are nine core international human rights treaties and ten UN human rights bodies. Nine of the bodies monitor the implementation of their corresponding treaty.
The chart below lists the core treaties and corresponding bodies:
Each treaty body tracks state declarations and reservations to the respective treaty. The treaty body also collects and responds to state reports through comments (generally about compliance). In many cases the treaty body sends UN Observers to the signatory states. These observers issue reports on state compliance. On occasion, the treaty body will hear complaints dealing with treaty compliance.
The 10th body, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) was established pursuant to the Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in 2002. SPT visits places of detention in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Finding Human Rights Laws and Documents
Below is a list of electronic sources for locating state reports, treaty body comments, and reports and cases resolving complaints (you will also find links to these sources through our E‐Resources page). Note that you cannot rely simply on one of these databases to exhaustively locate materials. They are best used in conjunction with each other.
For more information on general United Nations research, consult the research guides below.
The University of Michigan is a United Nations Repository. In addition to electronic resources, we have paper/microfiche access to thousands of United Nations documents either in the Law Library or the Graduate Library.
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