Human Rights Flashcards

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to human rights, significant events, and social justice movements, based on lecture notes from February to May 2025.

UDHR

Signed by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, in response to the wide scale abuse of human rights during WWII.

Inalienable Rights

Human rights that can never be taken away no matter your race, gender, sexuality, age, nationality, or income.

Article 1 of the UDHR

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."

Article 3 of the UDHR

"Right to life, liberty & security."

HV Evatt

Australia's Attorney General and President of the UN General Assembly during the development of the UDHR; crucial in drafting and adoption of the declaration.

Impact of UDHR

Gave rise to the civil rights movement and put pressure on governments to abide by international standards.

General Assembly (GA)

Composed of representatives from all Member states; main organ of the UN.

Security Council (SC)

Responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security; consists of 15 members.

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

The principal judicial organ of the UN, charged with settling legal disputes between states and providing advisory opinions.

Magna Carta

The first document to put into writing the principle that the King and his government was not above the law.

Charles Perkins

Led the Freedom Ride to protest discrimination against Indigenous Australians.

Racial Discrimination Act

Passed in 1975, promoting equality.

United Nations (UN)

Formed in 1945, dedicated to reaffirming equal human rights (men, women, & nations large and small).

Amnesty International

Focuses on enforcing human rights laws, ensuring governments uphold treaties like the NOME, the Geneva Conventions, and laws against slavery, discrimination & torture.

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13, 2007.

Assimilation Policies

Policies created to remove Indigenous children from their homes to have a white upbringing.

Activism

Taking action to bring about social, political, or environmental change.

Self-determination

The right or ability to make decisions & control one's own life or a group's future.

Stolen Generation

Term given to Torres Strait Islander & Aboriginal children who were taken away from their families and forced to absorb white values & habits.

Mabo Decision (1992)

The High Court of Australia recognised that a group of Torres Strait Islanders, led by Eddie Mabo, held ownership of Mer (Murray Island).

Civil Rights Movement

A social & political movement in the 1950s and 1960s in the United States aimed at ending racial segregation and discrimination and securing equal rights for African Americans.

Terra Nullius

Land belonging to no one