human rights

What are human rights?

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December.

 

International Human Rights Law

It lays down the obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.

One of the great achievements of the United Nations is the creation of a comprehensive body of human rights law – a universal and internationally protected code to which all nations can subscribe and all people aspire. The United Nations has defined a broad range of internationally accepted rights, including civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. It has also established mechanisms to promote and protect these rights and to assist states in carrying out their responsibilities.

The foundations of this body of law are the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly in 1945 and 1948, respectively. Since then, the United Nations has gradually expanded human rights law to encompass specific standards for women, children, persons with disabilities, minorities and other vulnerable groups, who now possess rights that protect them from discrimination that had long been common in many societies.

 

Principles of human rights

• Universal – Human rights belong to all people.
• Inalienable – Human rights cannot be taken away.
• Interconnected – Human rights are dependent on one another.
• Indivisible – Human rights cannot be treated in isolation.
• Non-discriminatory – Human rights should be respected without prejudice.

 

Where do human rights come from?

The atrocities of the Second World War made the protection of human rights an international priority.

The United Nations was founded in 1945. It allowed more than 50 member states to contribute to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948. This was the first attempt to set out at a global level the fundamental rights and freedoms shared by all human beings.

The UDHR is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations.

In order to give the human rights listed in the UDHR the force of law, the UN drafted two treaties

• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights (ICESCR)

Together, the UDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR are known as the International Bill of Human Rights. They contain a comprehensive list of human rights that governments must respect, protect, and fulfill.

 

Economic, social and cultural rights

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entered into force in 1976. The human rights that the Covenant seeks to promote and protect include:

• the right to work in just and favorable conditions
• the right to social protection, to an adequate standard of living and to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental wellbeing
• the right to education and the enjoyment of benefits of cultural freedom and scientific progress

Philosopher Immanuel Kant claims that the right to freedom is the only ‘original right’ of the person.

 

Civil and political rights

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and it's First Optional Protocol entered into force in 1976. The Second Optional Protocol was adopted in 1989.

The Covenant deals with such rights as freedom of movement, equality before the law, the right to a fair trial and presumption of innocence, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly, freedom of association, participation in public affairs and election, and protection of minority rights. It prohibits arbitrary deprivation of life, torture, cruel or degrading treatment or punishment, slavery and forced labor, arbitrary arrest or detention, arbitrary interference with privacy, war propaganda, discrimination and advocacy of racial or religious hatred.

 

Human Rights Conventions

A series of international human rights treaties and other instruments adopted since 1945 have expanded the body of international human rights law. They include the following among others:

• the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)
• the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965)
• the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979)
• the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
• the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006)

 

Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council, established on 15 March 2006 by the General Assembly and reporting directly to it, replaced the 60-year-old UN Commission on Human Rights as the key UN intergovernmental body responsible for human rights. The Council is made up of 47 State representatives and is tasked with strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe by addressing situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on them, including responding to human rights emergencies.

The most innovative feature of the Human Rights Council is the Universal Periodic Review. This unique mechanism involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN member states once every four years. The Review is a cooperative, state-driven process, under the auspices of the Council, which provides the opportunity for each state to present measures taken and challenges to be met to improve the human rights situation in their country and to meet their international obligations. The Review is designed to ensure universality and equality of treatment for every country.

 

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights exercises principal responsibility for UN human rights activities. The High Commissioner is mandated to respond to serious violations of human rights and to undertake preventive action.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the focal point for United Nations human rights activities. It serves as the secretariat for the Human Rights Council, the treaty bodies (expert committees that monitor treaty compliance) and other UN human rights organs. It also undertakes human rights field activities.

Most of the core human rights treaties have an oversight body which is responsible for reviewing the implementation of that treaty by the countries that have ratified it. Individuals, whose rights have been violated can file complaints directly to Committees overseeing human rights treaties.

 

Human rights entail both rights and obligations

States assume obligations and duties under international law to respect, to protect and to fulfill human rights.

• The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights.
• The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses.
• The obligation to fulfill means that States must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights.

At the individual level, while we are entitled our human rights, we should also respect the human rights of others.