Human Rights under the UN Charter — Human Rights Law Notes

Human Rights under the UN Charter

The word “human rights” appears seven times in the UN Charter of 1945 — the first time any general international treaty had used the phrase. That deliberate repetition is why writers speak of a “golden thread” of human rights woven through the Charter. But in the same document sits Article 2(7), which forbids the UN from meddling in a State’s domestic affairs — and the tension between the two is the classic exam battleground.

The Charter did not list rights (that job fell to the UDHR), but it made their promotion a purpose of the UN and scattered obligations through the text — the “golden thread.”

A. The human-rights provisions

Preamble — reaffirms “faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person.”
Article 1(3) — a purpose of the UN is to achieve co-operation “in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights … for all without distinction.”
Article 13(1)(b) — the General Assembly initiates studies to assist the realisation of human rights.
Articles 55 & 56 — the UN shall promote universal respect for human rights, and members pledge to take action for that purpose. This pledge is the nearest the Charter comes to a binding duty.
Articles 62 & 68 — ECOSOC may make recommendations and set up commissions (the Human Rights Commission was created under Article 68).

B. The great limitation — Article 2(7)

Article 2(7) bars the UN from intervening in matters “essentially within the domestic jurisdiction” of a State. States accused of abuses have long hidden behind it. But its force has shrunk: once a matter is governed by the Charter’s own human-rights clauses and later treaties, it is no longer purely “domestic,” and gross, systematic violations are now treated as a legitimate international concern.

🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — the Art 2(7) counter-argument

Facts. A State accused of mass abuses pleads Article 2(7) to block UN discussion.

Rule. Article 2(7) protects only matters “essentially within domestic jurisdiction”; matters governed by the Charter’s Articles 55–56 and human-rights treaties are not purely domestic.

Apply. By pledging under Article 56 to promote human rights, the State has itself made the subject a matter of international concern; gross violations therefore fall outside 2(7).

Conclusion. The domestic-jurisdiction shield fails for serious, systematic human-rights violations.

UN Charter, 1945, Article 56: “All Members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action in co-operation with the Organization for the achievement of the purposes set forth in Article 55” — including universal respect for human rights.

In Simple Terms: Article 55 states the goal (promote human rights); Article 56 is the members’ promise to work for it. Together they are the closest the Charter comes to a binding human-rights duty — and the answer to a State that pleads “this is our internal affair.”

flowchart TD
    A["UN CHARTER 1945<br/>the golden thread"]:::root
    A --> B["Preamble<br/>faith in fundamental rights"]:::leaf
    A --> C["Art 1(3)<br/>purpose: promote respect"]:::leaf
    A --> D["Art 55 & 56<br/>promotion + members' pledge"]:::leaf
    A --> E["Art 62, 68<br/>ECOSOC, Human Rights Commission"]:::leaf
    A --> F["Art 2(7)<br/>non-intervention limit"]:::warn
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    classDef leaf fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
    classDef warn fill:#FDE7E7,stroke:#B00020,color:#000;
    linkStyle default stroke:#888,stroke-width:1px;

Case Laws

Namibia Advisory Opinion (ICJ, 1971) — apartheid breached the Charter’s human-rights purposes; such matters are not shielded as purely domestic.

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