Human Rights and Responsibilities
Social Issues
Rights remain empty unless there is a responsibility to secure them. Proclaiming unenforceable rights may have a moral relevance but can breed cynicism. The Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Charters and Conventions have built a body of international soft law, complemented by the hard law of The Hague Court judgments and agreements containing sanctions. But implementation remains patchy and unbalanced.
The Declaration of Human Duties and Responsibilities, prepared for UNESCO in 1998 but never brought to a vote, provides a starting point for a world order where human rights are secured by corresponding moral duties and legal responsibilities of various actors and levels of society. How can it be implemented? How can human rights best be enforced? Is the concept of interconnected human rights and responsibilities useful?
