The Charter of the United Nations is the first international treaty with aims which are expressly based on universal respect for human rights. This has served as the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed on 10 December 1948.  

The Declaration was adopted in the form of a General Assembly resolution and is not, in principle, legally binding. It is, however, considered one of the most important documents of the 20th century, serving as a fundamental authority in multilateral debates in the United Nations and elsewhere and as a powerful factor in establishing the advancement of international human rights law.  

The UDHR became the starting point for the development of many human rights instruments internationally and regionally, and the United Nations has made considerable efforts to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights by drawing up conventions and declarations. 

The United Nations Millennium Declaration - built upon the outcome of the twelve major summits and conferences of the 1990s at which Governments agreed on development goals - was adopted at the Millennium Summit, where all UN member states were represented. Part V of the declaration formulates goals for the promotion of internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms.

There are nine Core United Nations Human Rights Conventions:

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - adopted in 1966, entered into force in 1976
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - adopted in 1966, entered into force in 1976
• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination - adopted in  1965, entered into force in 1969
• Convention on The Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) - adopted in 1979, entered into force in 1981
• Convention against Torture or Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment - adopted in 1984, entered into force in 1989
• Convention on the Rights of the Child - adopted in 1984, entered into force in 1991
• International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, adopted in 1990, entered into force in 2003
• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 2006, entered into force in 2008
• International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance , adopted in 2006, not yet in force.

In accordance with the provisions of each core human rights treaty, there is a committee of independent experts to monitor their implementation, the so called human rights treaty bodies.