Although the United Nations had long been active in the field of human rights, the Vienna conference was only the second global conference to focus exclusively on human rights, with the first having been the International Conference on Human Rights held in Teheran, Iran, during April–May 1968 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Meskipun PBB telah lama aktif dalam bidang hak asasi manusia, Konferensi Wina merupakan konferensi global kedua yang secara eksklusif menangani hak asasi manusia, setelah konferensi pertama yang diadakan di Teheran, Iran selama April-Mei 1968 untuk memperingati ulang tahun kedua puluh Deklarasi Universal Hak Asasi Manusia.