Human Rights

Mian Ali HaiderL.L.B., L.L.M (Cum Laude)

U.K.

INTRODUCTION Human rights are universal legal guarantees protecting individuals and

groups against actions and omissions that interfere with fundamental freedoms, entitlements and human dignity.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN RIGHTS Human rights law obliges Governments (principally) and other duty-bearers

to do certain things and prevents them from doing others. Are universal—the birthright of all human beings Focus on the inherent dignity and equal worth of all human beings Are equal, indivisible and interdependent Cannot be waived or taken away Impose obligations of action and omission, particularly on States and State

actors Have been internationally guaranteed Are legally protected Protect individuals and, to some extent, groups

INTRODUCTION Human rights standards have become increasingly well

defined in recent years. Codified in international, regional and national legal systems, they constitute a set of performance standards against which duty-bearers at all levels of society—but especially organs of the State—can be held accountable.

The fulfilment of commitments under international human rights treaties is monitored by independent expert committees called “treaty bodies,” which also help to clarify the meaning of particular human rights.

400 B.C.E. est. - Mo Zi founded Mohist School of Moral Philosophy in ChinaImportance 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-tzuAsserted “to relieve anxiety and eradicate strife, nothing is a effective as the institution of corporate life based on a clear recognition of individual rights”

Philosophical Visions: Human Nature - A search for Common secular inquiry

and human reason

1750 B.C.E. – King Hammurabi in BabylonNecessary 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 EgyptExplicit 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 IndianResponsibility of rulers for the welfare of people. “Noone should be allowed to suffer… either because of poverty or of any deliberate actions on the part of others”

Philosophical Visions: Human Nature

300 B.C.E. – Ashoka of IndiaFreedom 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

16th century - Hindu philosopher Chaitanya

“There is only one caste – humanity”

Sikh leader Guru Gobind SinghProclaimed “recognize all the human race as one”

10th Century - Al-Farabi, an Islamic PhilosopherWrote 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.

Philosophical Visions: Human Nature with Spiritual/Religious Traditions

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”

Philosophical Visions: Natural Law – focused on universal responsibilities and duties rather than what are now described as rights

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

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.

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

A Moral Vision of Human NatureHuman Rights set the limits and requirements of social (especially state) action. But the state and society, guided by human rights, play a major role in realizing that “nature.” When human rights claims bring legal and political practice into lines with their demands, they create a person in line with a moral vision. (Donnelly, 2003)

“Human Rights Theories and documents point beyond actual conditions of existence to what is possible.”

“Treat a person like a human being and you’ll get a human being.”

Philosophical Visions: Human Rights & the Social Construction of Human Nature

What are the Human Rights Principles?

Core Principles: Human Dignity Equality Non-discrimination Universality Interdependency Indivisibility Inalienability Responsibilities

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

Five Primary Categories of Human Rights:

Civil Rights Political Rights

Economic Rights Social Rights

Cultural Rights

International Bill of Human Rights

2 Optional Protocols to the ICCPR(M e m b e r na tio ns p erm it in d iv id u a ls o r g ro u ps

to rep o rt p e rso na l hu m an rig h ts v io la tion s to theU N H u m a n R igh ts C o m m itte e)

In t'l Co venan t on C ivil an d Po litica l R ig h ts(IC C P R )

A d o pte d b y U N G en e ra l A sse m bly in 1 9 66E n tere d in to Fo rce in 19 76

In t'l Co ven an t o n Eco no m ic, Soc ia l an d Cu ltura l Rig h ts(IC E S C )

A d o pte d b y th e UN G e n era l A ssem b ly in 1 9 66E n tere d in to Fo rce in 19 76

U n iversa l D ec la ra tio n o f H u m an Rig h ts(U D H R )

D e ce m be r 10 , 19 48

Is There Any Hierarchy Among Human Rights?

No, all human rights are equally important. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes it clear that

human rights of all kinds— Economic, political, civil, cultural and social—

These are of equal validity and importance. This fact has been reaffirmed repeatedly by the international community,

for example: 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development, The 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Near-universally ratified Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Human rights are also indivisible and interdependent. The principle of their indivisibility recognizes that no human

right is inherently inferior to any other. Economic, social and cultural rights must be respected,

protected and realized on an equal footing with civil and political rights.

The principle of their interdependence recognizes the difficulty (and, in many cases, the impossibility) of realizing any one human right in isolation

For instance, it is futile to talk of the right to work without a certain minimal realization of the right to education.

Similarly, the right to vote may seem of little importance to somebody with nothing to eat or in situations where people are victimized because of their skin colour, sex, language or religion.

Taken together, the indivisibility and interdependence principles mean that efforts should be made to realize all human rights together, allowing for prioritization as necessary in accordance with human rights principles

What kinds of human rightsobligations are there?

Obligations are generally of three kinds: To respect, To protect and To fulfil human rights:

To respect human rights means simply not to interfere with their enjoyment. For instance, States should refrain from carrying out forced evictions and not arbitrarily restrict the right to vote or the freedom of association.

To protect human rights means to take steps to ensure that third parties do not interfere with their enjoyment. For example, States must protect the accessibility of education by ensuring that parents and employers do not stop girls from going to school.

To fulfil human rights means to take steps progressively to realize the right in question.

This obligation is sometimes subdivided into obligations to facilitate and to provide for its realization. The former refers to the obligation of the State to engage proactively

in activities that would strengthen people’s ability to meet their own needs, for instance, creating conditions in which the market can supply the healthcare services that they demand.

The obligation to “provide” goes one step further, involving direct provision of services if the right(s) concerned cannot be realized otherwise, for example to compensate for market failure or to help groups that are unable to provide for themselves

Do individuals, as well as States,have obligations? Human rights obligations can also attach to private individuals, international

organizations and other non-State actors. Parents, for example, have explicit obligations under the Convention on

the Rights of the Child and States are obliged to cooperate with each other to eliminate obstacles to development.

State remains the primary duty-bearer under international law, and cannot abrogate its duty to set in place and enforce an appropriate regulatory environment for private sector activities and responsibilities. National legislation and policies must detail how the State’s human

rights obligations will be discharged at national, provincial and local levels, and the extent to which individuals, companies, local government units, NGOs or other organs of society will directly shoulder responsibility for implementation

ARE THERE DIFFERENCES BETWEENINDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND COLLECTIVE RIGHTS?

Equal worth and dignity of all can be assured only through the recognition and protection of individuals’ rights as members of a group.

The term collective rights or group rights refers to the rights of such peoples and groups, including ethnic and religious minorities and indigenous peoples, where the individual is defined by his or her ethnic, cultural or religious community.

Human rights claims are generally made most effectively by people acting together as a group.

For instance while we are all entitled as individuals to the right to freedom of

association, it is only when that right is asserted collectively that it can meaningfully be realized

But in certain specific cases the right in question protects a common interest which the group—rather than any specific individual— is entitled to claim.

For instance, The rights of indigenous peoples to traditional lands are recognized in

ILO Convention No. 169, Minority rights are recognized in article 27 of the International Covenant

on Civil and Political Rights, The right to self-determination is granted to all peoples in article 1 of both

the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Collective rights are reflected strongly in some regional human rights regimes

DO HUMAN RIGHTS DEPEND ON CULTURE?

International human rights are universally recognized regardless of cultural differences, but their practical implementation does demand sensitivity to culture

International human rights standards enjoy a strong claim to universality, with considerable adaptability to different cultural contexts.

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

Human rights are inherent and inalienable in human beings, simply by the fact of their being human

The human person in whom they inhere cannot voluntarily give them up. Nor can others take them away. All countries have ratified at least one of the seven core United

Nations human rights treaties

The international human rights framework itself acknowledges cultural diversity by limiting the ambit of international human rights to a range of standards on which international consensus is possible.

However, “culture” Is neither static nor sacrosanct, but rather evolves

according to external and internal stimuli. There is much in every culture that societies quite naturally

outgrow and reject. In any case, culture is no excuse not to ensure the enjoyment of human rights

What is the relationship betweenhuman rights and humandevelopment?

“Human development and human rights are close enough in motivation and concern to be compatible and congruous, and they are different enough in strategy and design to supplement each other fruitfully,”

According to the Human Development Report 2000. Human rights and development both aim to promote well-being and

freedom, based on the inherent dignity and equality of all people. The concern of human development is the realization by all of basic

freedoms, such as having the choice to meet bodily requirements or to escape preventable disease

Human rights and human development share a preoccupation with necessary outcomes for improving people’s lives, but also with better processes

Being people-centred, they reflect a fundamental concern with institutions, policies and processes as participatory and comprehensive in coverage as possible, respecting the agency of all individuals

WHAT IS A HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH?

A human rights-based approach is a conceptual framework for the process of human development that is normatively based on international human rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights. It seeks to analyse inequalities which lie at the heart of development

problems and redress discriminatory practices and unjust distributions of power that impede development progress

Mere charity is not enough from a human rights perspective. Under a human rights-based approach, the plans, policies and processes of development are anchored in a system of rights and corresponding obligations established by international law.

No universal recipe is available

HUMAN RIGHTS LEARNING WHEEL KRP - 1999

Connect

HealAct

Reflect

Celebrate

Inspire

Value

Know

Building Blocks for Human Rights Education BLOCK 1 – THINKING

Know your human rights BLOCK 2 – FEELING

Value your human rights BLOCK 3 - EQUIPPING

Learn new human rights Skills BLOCK 4 – ACTING

Practice human rights

Measuring the Impact and Being Accountable STEP 1 – MEASURING IMPACT

What are initial outcomes?

STEP 2 – REFLECTINGWas our intent the impact?

STEP 3 – COMMUNICATE OUR LEARNING & JOURNEYSCan we connect and hold each other accountable?

STEP 4 – CELEBRATE OUR EMERGING PRACTICESCan our work be a means rather than an end?

Who are the Stakeholders and Responsible Partners in our Human Rights Community?

Governor

Mayor and City Council

Elected Officials and Dept of Human Rights

Ombudsman & HR League/Commissions

School Suprintendent

Principals and University Deans/President

Teachers, Faculty, and Staff

Students

Parents

Police & Law Enforcement

NGOs/Non-Profit Organizations

Philanthropic Donors and Funders

Libraries, Hospitals, and Parks

Largest Private Employers