Human Rights are Eroding, according to Al Jazeera

Human rights eroding, analysts warn
By Adla Massoud in New York

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was a significant document which enshrined the liberties of all peoples when it was adopted by the UN in 1948 but has seen its significance erode from one conflict to another, analysts have said.

Human rights experts and advocacy groups say politicisation of the UDHR by governments in the past 20 years has severely undermined its value along with its power to inspire.

Mary Robinson, the former UN high commissioner for human rights and the first woman president of Ireland, believes that despite the UDHR's efforts to bridge social and racial differences, the world today is more divided than ever.

"We are more divided on values than we should be, given the Universal Declaration and that's because human rights have become too politicised."

She says lines have been drawn between the West and the Islamic world, the poor and the rich.