2. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW 2.1 International Human Rights Law Human rights are generally defined as rights that every person is endowed with as a consequence of his or her mere existence as a human being. The modern concept of human rights draws its origins from a number of intellectual movements and political developments, including the spread of natural law theory and the English, American, and French revolutions. International human rights law is the body of law that ensures the protection of human rights at the international level. It was first established in the aftermath of the Second World War, whereupon States committed to strengthening cooperation aimed at protecting fundamental rights and improving the living conditions of all human beings. To this end, Article 1(3) of the Charter of the United Nations (1945) provides that one of the four purposes of the United Nations is “To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”19 The core of international human rights law is codified in what is known informally as the International Bill of Human Rights: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). In addition to these general instruments, States have adopted a number of human rights treaties that focus on the protection of human rights in terms of specific acts, such as the prohibitions against torture, genocide, and discrimination, or in terms of specific vulnerable groups, such as women and children. International Protection of Human Rights Key Declarations Key Treaties Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); Declaration on the Right to Development (1986), Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (1992), Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (1993), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), General: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights & Optional Protocol (1976); International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights. Specific acts: Convention on the Prohibition and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948); Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965); Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (1984); Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998). Specific groups: Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951); Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979); Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989); Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (1989); 9