Human Rights Principles
Resource date: 2005
Author: UNFPA
Publisher: UNFPA
Human rights are universal and inalienable; indivisible; interdependent and interrelated. They are
universal because everyone is born with and possesses the same rights, regardless of where they
live, their gender or race, or their religious, cultural or ethnic background. Inalienable because
people’s rights can never be taken away. Indivisible and interdependent because all rights –
political, civil, social, cultural and economic – are equal in importance and none can be fully
enjoyed without the others. They apply to all equally, and all have the right to participate in
decisions that affect their lives. They are upheld by the rule of law and strengthened through
legitimate claims for duty-bearers to be accountable to international standards.
Universality and Inalienability: Human rights are universal and inalienable. All people
everywhere in the world are entitled to them. The universality of human rights is encompassed in
the words of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free
and equal in dignity and rights.”
Indivisibility: Human rights are indivisible. Whether they relate to civil, cultural, economic, political
or social issues, human rights are inherent to the dignity of every human person. Consequently, all
human rights have equal status, and cannot be positioned in a hierarchical order. Denial of one
right invariably impedes enjoyment of other rights. Thus, the right of everyone to an adequate
standard of living cannot be compromised at the expense of other rights, such as the right to health
or the right to education.
Interdependence and Interrelatedness: Human rights are interdependent and interrelated. Each
one contributes to the realization of a person’s human dignity through the satisfaction of his or her
developmental, physical, psychological and spiritual needs. The fulfilment of one right often
depends, wholly or in part, upon the fulfilment of others. For instance, fulfilment of the right to
health may depend, in certain circumstances, on fulfilment of the right to development, to
education or to information.
Equality and Non-discrimination: All individuals are equal as human beings and by virtue of the
inherent dignity of each human person. No one, therefore, should suffer discrimination on the basis
of race, colour, ethnicity, gender, age, language, sexual orientation, religion, political or other
opinion, national, social or geographical origin, disability, property, birth or other status as
established by human rights standards.
Participation and Inclusion: All people have the right to participate in and access information
relating to the decision-making processes that affect their lives and well-being. Rights-based
approaches require a high degree of participation by communities, civil society, minorities, women,
young people, indigenous peoples and other identified groups.
Accountability and Rule of Law: States and other duty-bearers are answerable for the observance
of human rights. In this regard, they have to comply with the legal norms and standards enshrined
in international human rights instruments. Where they fail to do so, aggrieved rights-holders are
entitled to institute proceedings for appropriate redress before a competent court or other
adjudicator in accordance with the rules and procedures provided by law. Individuals, the media,
civil society and the international community play important roles in holding governments
accountable for their obligation to uphold human rights.
UNFPA supports the integration of human rights standards into all stages of its programming
framework, including:
• Analyzing the immediate, underlying and structural causes of human rights violations
• Setting strategies and goals to address the main causes of human rights violations and to
empower the most vulnerable people as well as to reinforce the capacity of duty bearers.
• Supporting initiatives for the establishment or improvement of an enabling legal and social
framework on population and development, reproductive health and gender equality
• Following the recommendations of UN treaty bodies such as the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
• Evaluating and monitoring programmes with participatory processes and using human
rights indicators
UNFPA also recognizes that a rights-based approach should be founded on an analysis of gender
and social exclusion to ensure that programmes reach marginal and vulnerable segments of the
population, especially poor women and young people.
