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Whatever person, even unasked, speaks to others of his own morality
and observances, whoever even of his own accord speaks of himself—adept
ones say his is a non-Ariyan way (anariyadhammaṁ) —Duṭṭhaṭṭhaka Sutta, verse 3

Those of you who are
familiar with ancient Indian Buddhist philosophy may know that the Pali
word usually translated as “noble” is ariya; for example, the four Noble Truths are the cattāri ariya-saccāni,
and any Buddhist saint or sage who has attained at least a glimpse of
Nibbāna is called an Ariya. You may also be aware that this term is
etymologically the same as the Sanskrit word Arya, used by some
Nazi types and white nationalists, as in the Aryan Nation or the Aryan
Master Race. The purpose of what follows is to explain the connection.
The explanation extends back into remote prehistory.

Back around 5000BCE
there arose a tribe, or family of tribes, probably north of the Caucasus
Mountains and the Black and Caspian Seas, who are now referred to as
the Indo-Europeans or, in their earliest manifestations, as
Proto-Indo-Europeans. They spoke a language (or family of languages)
related to many modern ones, including English, Russian, Greek, Latin,
and Sanskrit, and many of them evidently had fair skin, blue eyes, and
blond hair. They were physically large and aggressive, had a strong
social system, were among the first to tame and ride horses, and also
some of the first to make iron weapons and tools; and they were so
successful that they spread out in all directions of the compass in a
huge series of migrations and invasions of others’ territories.

It is known that some of
the prehistoric Indo-Europeans who spread eastward into Asia called
themselves Arya, or Aria, or Ariya. These eventually invaded what is now
Iran (which is itself a corruption of the ancient word “Arian”),
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, along with several other
regions—including one group of Indo-Aryans who wound up ruling a nation
in northern Syria called Mitanni. The other groups of Indo-Europeans may
not have called themselves by this same name, but white nationalists in
Europe a hundred and more years ago decided to refer to all
Indo-European peoples as “Aryan,” and it remains a loose synonym for
“Indo-European.” But though it has been used as a shorter and easier
synonym, including sometimes by me, the philologists and other similar
academic authorities restrict the term “Aryan” to those tribes, now
mostly ancestors to north Indians and Iranians, who are known to have
called themselves by that name.

When the Indo-Europeans
were spreading out from their ancestral homeland, they usually were
invading territory already occupied by other people; and what often
occurred is that the Indo-European invaders would become the new ruling
class, with the subject peoples being a mix of the aboriginals and some
of the rank and file of the invading forces. This is what happened in
northern India: around approximately 1500BCE, Indo-Aryan invaders from
Bactria (approximately Afghanistan) conquered the declining Indus Valley
Civilization and set themselves up as the new overlords. This was the
origin of the notorious Indian caste system: As a rule, the chieftains
and other military leaders were set up as the Kshatriya caste, the
priests of their Vedic, Aryan polytheistic religion gave rise to the
lineage of Brahmins, the common men among the invaders became the
ancestors of the Vaishya caste consisting
mainly of landowners and merchants, and the stereotypically small,
dark-skinned, snub-nosed aboriginals (as they are described in the Rig
Veda) became the ancestors of the Shudra peasant caste, as well as the
outcastes lying outside the formal social system.

There was of course a
certain amount of social mobility, so that low-caste people of some
consequence or merit would be raised up in the social hierarchy, and
some high-caste ones could be cast down, for example by a Brahman
disgracing himself through some scandalous deed like eating the wrong
kind of meat. I have read that it was not uncommon for high-ranking
non-Aryans, like the leaders of formidable aboriginal tribes, to be
given honorary Kshatriya status as a reward for collaborating with the
new ruling class. Also, judging from the fact that only a relative few
of the higher-caste Hindus of today look European (a very few Brahmins
still have blue eyes, for example), thousands of years of high-caste
Aryans mating with the prettiest Dravidian girls, etc., has resulted in
northern India having a population of what some white nationalists would
call “mud bloods.”

So anyhow, the Aryas being the ruling class, Arya, or Ariya
in Pali, came to have the meaning of “noble,” because the social
nobility, the leaders, were literally Aryan, while the common masses
generally were not. The term Arya came to be associated with European
looks, and also with genteel manners and civilized “good breeding.” It
came to be a term of praise for what was considered to be superior; and
it retained that meaning as the older meaning began to be lost in
obscurity, as the Indians increasingly believed that they sprang
directly from Indian soil and were never a conquering tribe of barbarian
invaders. Finally the word became something like the word “gentle” in
English: it began with the Latin word gens, signifying an ancient
or illustrious family, and later came to mean “refined,”
“well-mannered” like a high-bred person, until the original meaning was
forgotten, and the word had evolved to mean something quite different.

In the ancient Pali texts one may occasionally encounter the word ariya
in the older sense of “Indo-European,” for example in the description
of some hill tribe; but in Buddhism it came to mean “noble” in the sense
of “civilized,” “socially advanced,” even “praiseworthy.” And so,
ancient Buddhism adopting preexisting terms for its new philosophical
system, the word ariya was adopted to describe anything spiritually or ethically advanced. Nobility of ancestry mutated into nobility of demeanor. And there it is.

A similar case of old words getting new Buddhist meanings is the term arahant,
which often isn’t translated at all in English renderings. For
Theravada Buddhists the meaning is a person who is fully enlightened,
including the Buddha himself. But the word literally means “worthy,” or “worthy one.” I have read that magistrates and other political bigshots in ancient India were called araha,
and so it became a generic word of praise or glorification. Even so,
the original meaning of the root of the word continued to have its old
meaning, hence Pali terms like daṇḍāraho, “worthy of the stick,” i.e. “worthy of punishment.” But maybe more on word etymologies some other time.

Protect Human Rights

The term “human rights” was mentioned seven times in the UN’s founding Charter, making the promotion and protection of human rights a key purpose and guiding principle of the Organization. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
brought human rights into the realm of international law. Since then,
the Organization has diligently protected human rights through legal
instruments and on-the-ground activities.

UN Photo/Fardin Waezi

Students
at Butkhak High School in Kabul, Afghanistan, cheer in unison on the
last day of Global Action Week, an international campaign advocating
free, quality education for all.

How does the UN promote and protect human rights?

High Commissioner for Human Rights

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has lead responsibility in the UN system for the promotion and protection of human rights.
The office supports the human rights components of peacekeeping
missions in several countries, and has many country and regional offices
and centres. The High Commissioner for Human Rights regularly comments on human rights situations in the world and has the authority to investigate situations and issue reports on them.

Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council,
established in 2006, replaced the 60-year-old UN Commission on Human
Rights as the key independent UN intergovernmental body responsible for
human rights.

Human Rights Treaty Bodies

The human rights treaty bodies are committees of independent experts that monitor implementation of the core international human rights treaties

Special Procedures

The special procedures
of the Human Rights Council are prominent, independent experts working
on a voluntary basis, who examine, monitor, publicly report and advise
on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective.

UNDG-HRM

The UN Development Group’s Human Rights Mainstreaming Mechanism (UNDG-HRM) advances human rights mainstreaming efforts within the UN development system.

Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect

The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide acts
as a catalyst to raise awareness of the causes and dynamics of
genocide, to alert relevant actors where there is a risk of genocide,
and to advocate and mobilize for appropriate action; the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect leads the conceptual, political, institutional and operational development of the Responsibility to Protect.

What legal instruments help the UN protect human rights?

The International Bill of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) was the first legal document protecting universal human rights. Together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
the three instruments form the so-called International Bill of Human
Rights. A series of international human rights treaties and other
instruments adopted since 1945 have expanded the body of international human rights law.

Democracy

Democracy,
based on the rule of law, is ultimately a means to achieve
international peace and security, economic and social progress and
development, and respect for human rights – the three pillars of the
United Nations mission as set forth in the UN Charter. At the 2005 World
Summit, all the world’s governments reaffirmed “that democracy is a
universal value based on the freely expressed will of people to
determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and
their full participation in all aspects of their lives” and stressed
“that democracy, development and respect for all human rights and
fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing”.
Democratic principles are woven throughout the normative fabric of the
United Nations. The 2009 Guidance Note on Democracy of the Secretary-General
sets out the United Nations framework for democracy based on universal
principles, norms and standards and commits the Organization to
principled, coherent and consistent action in support of democracy.

What other UN offices and bodies are responsible for protecting human rights?

Security Council

The UN Security Council,
at times, deals with grave human rights violations, often in conflict
areas. The UN Charter gives the Security Council the authority to
investigate and mediate, dispatch a mission, appoint special envoys, or
request the Secretary-General to use his good offices. The Security
Council may issue a ceasefire directive, dispatch military observers or a
peacekeeping force. If this does not work, the Security Council can
opt for enforcement measures, such as economic sanctions, arms embargos,
financial penalties and restrictions, travel bans, the severance of
diplomatic relations, a blockade, or even collective military action.

Third Committee of the General Assembly

The General Assembly’s Third Committee
(Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) examines a range of issues,
including human rights questions. The Committee also discusses
questions relating to the advancement of women, the protection of
children, indigenous issues, the treatment of refugees, the promotion of
fundamental freedoms through the elimination of racism and racial
discrimination, and the right to self-determination. The Committee also
addresses important social development questions.

Various Other UN Bodies

Different
intergovernmental bodies and interdepartmental mechanisms based at the
United Nations headquarters in New York, as well as the United Nations Secretary-General, address a range of human rights issues. The General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and their subsidiary organs make policy decisions and recommendations to Member States, the United Nations system and other actors. The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
(UNPFII), an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council, has a
mandate to discuss indigenous issues, including human rights. The Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights interacts with and provides
advice and support on human rights issues to these bodies and
mechanisms. The Office also works to mainstream human rights in all
areas of work of the Organization, including development, peace and
security, peacekeeping and humanitarian affairs. Human rights issues are also addressed in the context of the post-conflict UN peacebuilding support activities

Secretary-General

The Secretary-General appoints special representatives, who advocate against major human rights violations:

The ‘Human Rights Up Front’ Initiative is
an initiative by the UN Secretary-General to ensure the UN system takes
early and effective action, as mandated by the Charter and UN
resolutions, to prevent or respond to serious and large-scale violations
of human rights or international humanitarian law. The initiative
underlines a shared responsibility among the various UN entities to work
together to address such violations. HRuF seeks to achieve this by
effecting change at three levels: cultural, operational and political.
These changes are gradually transforming the way the UN understands its
responsibilities and implements them. The initiative has been
progressively rolled-out since late 2013. Through various presentations,
letters and policy documents, the Secretary-General and Deputy
Secretary-General have presented HRuF to the General Assembly and to
staff and UN system leaders.

On 19 January 2018, Secretary-General António Guterres established the International Commission of Inquiry envisioned by the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.
He appointed Lena Sundh (Sweden), Vinod Boolell (Mauritius) and Simon
Munzu (Cameroon) to serve as Commissioners and selected Ms. Sundh as
Chair. Established at the request of the signatory parties to the
Agreement, the Commission of Inquiry will advance national
reconciliation and support the Malian authorities’ efforts in the fight
against impunity. The Commissioners, who are serving in their personal
capacities, will investigate serious violations of international human
rights and humanitarian law committed in Mali since January 2012 and
submit a report to the Secretary General on 22 October 2019.

The Highest Aspiration: A Call to Action for Human Rights

On 24 February 2020, Secretary-General António Guterres launched a Call to Action for Human Rights. “Human rights are our ultimate tool to help societies grow in freedom,” he told Member States on the opening day of the UN Human Rights Council’s 43rd session in
Geneva, as he detailed a seven-point blueprint for positive change.
Echoing the call for change, High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that although threats to human rights, development and peace were on the rise, so were the practical, actionable solutions to these issues.

UN Peace Operations

Many United Nations peacekeeping operations and political and peacebuidling missions
also include the human rights-related mandates aimed at contributing to
the protection and promotion of human rights through both immediate and
long-term action; empowering the population to assert and claim their
human rights; and enabling State and other national institutions to
implement their human rights obligations and uphold the rule of law.
Human rights teams on the ground work in close cooperation and
coordination with other civilian and uniformed components of peace
operations, in particular, in relation to the protection of civilians;
addressing conflict-related sexual violence and violations against
children; and strengthening respect for human rights and the rule of law
through legal and judicial reform, security sector reform and prison
system reform.

Commission on the Status of Women

The Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body dedicated to the
promotion of gender equality and the advancement of women. UN Women, established in 2010, serves as its Secretariat.

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