ブックタイトル佐藤栄作論文集９～１６

概要

佐藤栄作論文集９～１６

第９回優秀賞human rights to the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and otherorgans, and provides for the establishment of a commission on human rights. Over theyears, the UN has evolved various legal instruments for defining and protecting theserights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the General Assemblyin 1948 identifies the various rights to which people everywhere are entitled, andthese can be grouped into five categories, namely: civil, political, economic, social andcultural rights（UN 1987: 2, 4）.Other UN human rights instruments include the international Covenanton Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights; International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of RacialDiscrimination; Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination AgainstWomen; and Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or DegradingTreatment or Punishment. The existence of these and other instruments clearlydemonstrate that“with the exception of the pursuit of peace, there is no cause thatthe United Nations is more closely identified with more than the cause of humanrights”（UN 1987: 2）.The principle task facing the UN in the post-Cold War era ? as in the Cold Warperiod ? is how to translate these instruments into actual means of protecting andpromoting human rights. In this respect, the post-Cold War period has a potentialadvantage in that there is a chance to channel energies hitherto devoted to ideologicalrivalry into the promotion of human welfare.First, the UN needs to take additional steps to assist and make provisions forthe vulnerable members of society so that they can enjoy the same rights as othermembers. The vulnerable group includes the elderly, children and women. A specialmention must, however, be made of those who have been forced to migrate either43