REPORT OF UNESCO EXPERT MEETING ON - APCEIU

standards higher than the international human rights standards, and never lower that level. It should be clear
too that regional or subregional human rights initiatives are not a substitute for ratifying UN human rights
instruments.
It would be most interesting to have these subregional initiatives discussed in schools in the Asia-Pacific.
With the numerous documents on human rights, there must be a way to avoid getting lost in the human rights
forest.
There is a set of human rights principles that the UN promotes to all peoples and mainstreams in all its
programs and activities. The UN has also in recent decade exerted effort to clarify what human rights mean,
in view of the different or confused notions of human rights even among UN staff.
Human rights are defined in the following manner:
Or
Human rights are inherent entitlements which come to every person as a consequence of being
human.
Human rights are commonly understood as being those rights which are inherent to the human being.
The concept of human rights acknowledges that every single human being is entitled to enjoy his or
her human rights without distinction as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. 21
In relation to sustainable development, the UNDP defines human rights in this way:
Human rights are based on respect for the dignity and worth of all human beings and seek to ensure
freedom from fear and want. Rooted in ethical principles (and usually inscribed in a country's
constitutional and legal framework), human rights are essential to the well-being of every man,
woman and child. Premised on fundamental and inviolable standards, they are universal and
inalienable. 22
Two major principles govern human rights: equality and non-discrimination. Equality principle means that all
human beings are equal in dignity and rights. (Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights [UDHR]) Nondiscrimination
principle means that
Everyone is entitled to all … rights and freedoms … without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
other status.
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