The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that “[a]ll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” This course provides an overview of the international legal and institutional systems to protect these rights. We will examine the material both from an academic perspective and from the point of view of the human rights practitioner, tackling difficult theoretical issues in the field as well as assessing the practical strengths and weaknesses of human rights law and implementation mechanisms. Topics covered include civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, the universality of human rights, norm regression, reservations to human rights treaties, the application of human rights norms during a global pandemic, and the United Nations system for the protection of human rights.