��Introduction to Human Rights

DEFINITION

HUMAN RIGHTS are the rights that all people have by virtue of being human beings.

​

HUMAN RIGHTS are derived from the inherent dignity of the human person and are defined internationally, nationally and locally by various law making bodies.

DEFINITION

HUMAN RIGHTS is defined as the supreme, inherent, and inalienable rights to life, to dignity, and to self-development. It is concerned with issues in both areas of civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights founded on internationally accepted human rights obligations

RIGHTS – moral power to hold (rights to life, nationality, own property, rest and leisure), to do (rights to marry, peaceful assembly, run for public office, education), to omit (freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile) or to exact something (equal protection of the law, equal access to public service, equal pay for equal work)

HUMAN RIGHTS coined by Eleanor Roosevelt to replace Rights of Man

NATURE – Human rights are more than legal concepts: they are the essence of man. They are what make man human. That is why they are called human rights; deny them and you deny man’s humanity (Jose Diokno)

HUMAN RIGHTS

Characteristics of Human Rights

• Universal
• Internationally guaranteed
• Legally protected
• Protects individuals and groups
• Cannot be taken away
• Equal and indivisible
• Obliges States and State actors

Basic Documents on Human Rights

1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

1966 International Covenants on Human Rights

International Covenant on CPR� International Covenant on ESCR

​

• Specific topics: Torture, Racial discrimination
• Specific victim groups: Gender, Children

​

General Comments & Recommendations by all treaty bodies including:

General Comment 12, 1999

General Comment 15 on drinking water, 2002

Five categories of Human Rights

• Civil – the right to be treated as an equal to anyone else in society
• Political – the right to vote, to freedom of speech and to obtain information
• Economic – the right to participate in an economy that benefits all; and to desirable work
• Social – the right to education, health care, food, clothing, shelter and social security
• Cultural – the right to freedom of religion, and to speak the language, and to practice the culture of one’s choice

SOME POLITICAL RIGHTS

• Vote in elections
• Freely form or join political parties
• Live in an independent country
• Stand for public office
• Freely disagree with views and policies of political leaders

​

SOME CIVIL RIGHTS

• Life
• Belief in own religion
• Opinion
• Free speech
• Non-discrimination according to sex
• Marry
• Race
• Cultural background

​

SOME SOCIAL RIGHTS

• Housing
• Education
• Health services
• Recreation facilities
• Clean environment
• Social security

SOME ECONOMIC RIGHTS

• Jobs
• Work without exploitation
• Fair wage
• Safe working conditions
• Form trade unions
• Have adequate food
• Protection against labor malpractices

​

SOME CULTURAL RIGHTS

​

• Use own language
• Develop cultural activities
• Ancestral domains
• Develop own kind of schooling

​

​

Civil and Political Rights

Civil rights deal with standards of judiciary and penal systems.

Political rights deal with specific components of participation in political power.

These rights are often focused on when one talks about human rights.

ESCR - The neglected half of Human Rights

Economic Rights deal with the sphere of human beings working, producing and servicing.

Social Rights deal with standard of living and quality of life for all persons, including those not participating in economic activities.

Cultural Rights deal with the cultural sphere of life including ethnic culture, subcultures, arts and science.

“Distinctions” of CPR ESCR

Indivisibility of Human Rights

“All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated. The international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same emphasis. While the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

The Vienna Declaration and Program of Action (June 1993, Paragraph 5)

​

Summary

Human rights are indivisible and highly interrelated.

Philosophical Visions: �Human Nature - A search for Common secular inquiry and human reason

400 B.C.E. est. - Mo Zi founded Mohist School of Moral Philosophy in China

Importance of duty, self-sacrifice, and an all-embracing respect for others – “universally throughout the world”

300 B.C.E. est. – Chinese sage Mencious

Wrote on the “human nature” – “humans are fundamentally good, but goodness needs to be nurtured”

300 B.C.E. est. – Hsun-tzu

Asserted “to relieve anxiety and eradicate strife, nothing is a effective as the institution of corporate life based on a clear recognition of individual rights”

1750 B.C.E. – King Hammurabi in Babylon

Necessary to honor broad codes of justice among people. Created one of the earliest legal codes to govern behavior – “let the oppressed man come under my statue” to seek equal justice in law

Ancient Egypt

Explicit social justice – “comfort the afflicted…refrain from unjust punishment. Kill not…make no distinction between the son of a man of importance and one of humble origin”

Early Sanskrit writings in Indian

Responsibility of rulers for the welfare of people. “None should be allowed to suffer… either because of poverty or of any deliberate actions on the part of others”

​

​

Philosophical Visions: �Human Nature - A search for Common secular inquiry and human reason

300 B.C.E. – Ashoka of India

Freedom of worship and other rights of his subjects. Other leaders from this area impartial justice and social equality and no castes should exist since all are from one tree

16^th century - Hindu philosopher Chaitanya

“There is only one caste – humanity”

Sikh leader Guru Gobind Singh

Proclaimed “recognize all the human race as one”

10^th Century - Al-Farabi, an Islamic Philosopher

Wrote The Outlook of the People of the City of Virtue, a vision of moral society in which all individual were endowed with rights and lived in love and charity with their neighbors.

Greek Philosophers

Equal respect for all citizens (insotimia). Equality before the law (isonomia). Equality in political power (isokratia) and Suffrage (isopsephia).

Marcus Tillius Cicero

“Universal justice and law guided human nature to act justly and be of service to others” – This natural law “binds all human society” together, applies to every member of “the whole human race” without distinction and unique dignity of each person.

French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762)

“Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains

​

Precursors to 20th Century Human Rights Documents

• 1750 B.C.E.

Code of Hammurabi, Babylonia

• 1200 - 300 B.C.E.
• Old Testament
• 551 - 479 B.C.E.

Analects of Confucius

• 40 - 100 C.E.

New Testament

• 644 - 656 C.E.

Koran

• 1215

Magna Carta, England

• 1400

Code of Nezahualcoyotl, Aztec

1648

Treaty of Westphalia, Europe

1689

English Bill of Rights, England

1776

Declaration of Independence, United States

1787

United States Constitution

1789

French Declaration on the Rights of Man and the Citizen, France 1791 -United States Bill of Rights

19th and 20th Century Human Rights based on Natural Rights

• 1863: Emancipation Proclamation, United States
• 1864 & 1949: Geneva Conventions, International Red Cross
• 1919: League of Nations Covenant, International Labor Organization (ILO) Created
• 1920: Women gain the right to vote in the U.S.
• 1926: Slavery Convention
• 1945: United Nations Charter, San Francisco
• 1947: Mohandas Gandhi uses non-violent protests leading India to independence.

What are the Human Rights Principles?

• The rights that someone has simply because he or she is a human being & born into this world.

​

​

CORE PRINCIPLES:

Human Dignity

Equality

Non-discrimination

Universality

Interdependency

Indivisibility

Inalienability

Responsibilities

Universal Declaration of Human Rights �History and Current Status

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was drafted by the UN Commission on Human Rights chaired by, then first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. The UDHR was adopted by the 56 member nations of the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948.

​

• December 10th is celebrated around the world as International Human Rights Day. The 192 member states in the U.N., upon membership, agreed to educate their citizens about the principles of the UDHR. Most of these countries have incorporated the principles of the UDHR into their constitutions.
• “The UDHR specifies minimal conditions of a dignified life.”

​

International Bill of Human Rights

General

Assembly

Security Council

Trusteeship Council

Secretariat

Economic &

Social Council

International Court of World Justice

Commission on Human Rights

International Labour Organization (ILO)

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations Development Fund for Women

United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

World Health Organization (WHO)

​

The UN General Assembly

• The United Nations currently comprises 185 member states, all of which belong to the General Assembly. The General Assembly controls the UN’s finances, makes non-binding recommendations, and oversees and elects members of other UN organs. It is the General Assembly that ultimately votes to adopt human rights declarations and conventions, which are also called treaties or covenants. For example, in 1948 when the UN Commission on Human Rights had completed its draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the General Assembly voted to adopt the document.

The UN Commission on Human Rights

The UN Commission on Human Rights

Although human rights are fundamental to all functions of the UN, human rights issues mainly fall under the

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Made up of fifty-three member states elected by ECOSOC the

UN Commission on Human Rights initiates studies and fact-finding missions and discusses specific human

rights issues. It has responsibility for initiating and drafting human rights declarations and conventions.

ECOSOC also supervises intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), which are specialized agencies that

function independently with their own charter, budget, and staff but are affiliated with the UN by special

agreements. IGOs report to the ECOSOC and may be asked to review reports from certain UN bodies that

are relevant to their area of focus.

Some intergovernmental organizations that work to protect human rights include:

• International Labor Organization (ILO) – Develops international labor standards and provides technical assistance training to governments.
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – Works with other UN bodies, governments, and nongovernmental organizations to provide community-based services in primary healthcare, basic education, and safe water and sanitation for children in developing countries. Human rights are fundamental to its programming.
• United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) – Promotes economic and political empowerment of women in developing countries, working to ensure their participation in development planning and practices, as well as their human rights.
• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) – Pursues intellectual cooperation in education, science, culture, and communications and promotes development through social, cultural, and economic projects.
• World Health Organization (WHO) – Conducts immunization campaigns, promotes and coordinates research, and provides technical assistance to countries that are improving their health systems.  
• Other UN Bodies and Human Rights
• The UN Security Council, comprising fifteen member states, is responsible

​

Human Rights Instruments

• International Bill of Human Rights �Human Rights Defenders �Right of self-determination �Prevention of discrimination �Rights of women �Rights of the child �Slavery, servitude, forced labour and similar institutions and practices �Human rights in the administration of justice
• Freedom of information �Freedom of association   �Employment �Marriage, Family and Youth �Social welfare, progress and development �Right to enjoy culture, international cultural development and co-operation �Nationality, statelessness, asylum and refugees �War crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide �Humanitarian law

Human Rights Subjects

HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

• “Human Rights Education is a means towards social change; a tool to transform the theory and practical applications into everyday social practice.”
• “In conflict situations and in peace building, HRE must be seen to benefit the target populations’ daily lives.”� “HRE focuses especially on social goals and ideals that emphasize the dignity of all human beings and the need for laws and institutions that enforce those standards. In so doing, HRE contributes directly to the process of building a society based on freedom, peace and Justice.”� Paul Martin, et al.

​

• “Where, after all do universal rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.” Elenor Rooswelt

​

Formal state obligations for each human right

Three obligations of action:

• Respect
• Protect
• Fulfil

Four obligations of process:

• Non-discrimination
• Adequate progress
• Participation
• Effective remedy

​

Formal state obligations for each human right

Identifying state obligations:

Realising rights depends on more than the state

​

• Resources and capacity
• Culture, customs and norms
• The strength of civil society
• External impacts and pressures
• Other non state actors…