【明報專訊】Human rights are the fundamental rights that every person is born with. Regardless of race, skin colour, gender, language, religion, political view, ethnicity and other statuses, all people are entitled to live independent and dignified lives. The United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights delineates the fundamental rights that should be enjoyed by humankind and conveys the UN's determination to protect these rights. But the declaration is not a binding international covenant. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights list the basic principles of fundamental human rights and freedoms. They require signatories to take all kinds of measures to uphold these rights. Both covenants apply to Hong Kong.