Discussion on the Charter of the United Nations and the Advancement of the Human Rights Cause

The Status of the Charter of the United Nations in the History of Human Rights Development

HU Yuhong*

World War II constituted a pivotal turning point in the history of human law. It prompted human society to re-examine the legitimacy and rationality of law, thus consigning the idea that an unjust law is nonetheless a law to the dustbin of history. The laws of all countries ought to be formulated in accordance with the philosophy of sound law. Adopted in the aftermath of World War II, the the Charter of the United Nations (hereinafter referred to as the UN Charter) not only established a functional organizational structure for an authoritative international organization, but more importantly, from a legal perspective, it upheld “human rights” as its guiding principle and laid down the most important normative source of international law for the development of human rights. As one scholar observed, “In the period since the end of the Second World War, there has emerged what never before existed: a truly global morality — specifically, a global political morality. That morality, which I call ‘the morality of human rights,’ consists both of a fundamental imperative, which serves as the normative ground of human rights, and of various human rights — of various rights, that is, recognized by the great majority of the countries of the world as human rights.” This paper briefly expounds on the status of the UN Charter in the history of human rights development to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its adoption and entry into force.