HUMAN RIGHTS

What are human rights?

Human rights are composed of privileges, claim, benefits, entitlements and moral guarantees that pertain to man
because of his humanity. They are a system of values which are inherent to human dignity.

Human rights are also considered as legal and moral entitlements that evolved as a basis for constructing how state
power is used and particularly to limit its use against the rights of citizens.

Why does a human possess rights?

A human possesses rights because of the fact that as a person, he is deemed to be master of himself and the acts that he
commits.

Every human being is a person and that his nature is endowed with intelligence and full will. By virtue of this, he has the
rights and duties flowing directly from his very nature.

What are the three generations of rights?

Civil and political rights – these rights evolved during the long development of democratic society and serve as a
protection of the individuals from the arbitrary exercise of police power (e.g. right to life, right to liberty and security of
person, right to equal protection against any discrimination); also known as first generation of liberty rights

Economic, social and cultural rights – these rights become recognized when the citizens realized that the possession of
the first generation of liberty rights would be valueless without the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.
(e.g. right to work, right to social security, right to education, right to health, right to shelter)

Solidarity or collective rights – these rights are intended to benefit individuals, groups and peoples, and its realization
will need global cooperation based on international solidarity. (e.g right to peace, right of women, right of children, right
of self-determination)

Three divisions follow the French Revolution’s three slogans: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity

What are the principles of human rights?

- Universality, indivisibility, interdependence
- Universality – rights belong to and are to be enjoyed by all human beings without distinction of any kind, such as
race, color, sex or language, religion, political and other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
stature.
- Indivisibility – the rights form an indivisible whole and only if these rights are guaranteed that an individual can
live decently in dignity
- Inherent
- Interdependence - the first generation of liberty rights and the second generation of equality rights are inter-
related and are co-equal in importance.
Three generations of Human Rights:
- Idealization
- Positivization
- Realization
What are the characteristics of human rights?
- Inherent, inalienable and universal
- Inherent – rights are the birthright of all human beings, existing independently of the will of either an individual
human being or group. These rights are not obtained and granted through any human action or intervention.
- Inalienable – no person can deprive any person these rights and no person can repudiate these rights by himself.
These rights cannot be the subject of the commerce of men.
 - Universal – these rights belong to every human being, no matter what he or she is like. Because rights are
universal, its promotion and protection are the duty of all States, regardless of cultural, economic, or political
systems.
What are the classifications of human rights? (Source, recipient, aspect of life, struggle for recognition, derogability)
Source – natural rights, statutory rights (provided by the law making body and the government which was separated by
the three powers of the state) and constitutional rights
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STATUTORY AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
Statutory – can be modified, repealed or abolished
Constitutional – cannot be abolished or repealed; considered supreme, protected by the constitution
Natural rights – acknowledged by everybody to be morally good; given by God; not dependent on any norms of society,
law or customs of society
Recipient – individual rights and collective rights; rights according to aspect of life, civil, political, socio-economic,
cultural
DIFFERENTIATE CIVIL, POLITICAL, SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL
Aspects of life –
Struggle for recognition –
Derogability – absolute or non-derogable (rights that cannot be taken away or destroyed); derogable – relative rights;
can be destroyed; have limitations, may be suspended or limited
Derogability – whether or not the right may be infringed in certain circumstances; a non-derogable right is one whose
infringement is not justified under any other circumstances, generally like, the right to freedom, life, prohibition against
torture, inhumane or unjust treatment
- Civil-political
- Socio-economic
- Collective-developmental
What are the three stages of human rights?
- Idealization, positivization, realization
- Idealization – notions about human rights have started in the realm of ideas that reflect a consciousness against
oppression, dehumanization or inadequate performance by the State
- Positivization – support for the ideas became strong and the stage is set to incorporate them into legal
instruments, whether domestic law or international law
- Realization - the last stage where these rights are enjoyed by the citizens of the State by the transformation of
the social, economic, and political order.

What are the three obligations of States?

ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
 A multilateral treaty where The covenant commits its parties to respect the civil and political rights of
individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly,
electoral rights and rights to due process and a fair trial.
- Obligation to respect (Art. 2(1) of the ICCPR); this obligation commands the State to refrain from restricting the
exercise of these rights where such is not expressly allowed. An example is the prohibition of torture under
Article 7 of the ICCPR.
- Obligation to ensure – this obligation enables the State parties to become proactive enough to enable
individuals to enjoy their rights. This obligation commands the State to safeguard certain rights by means of
procedural guarantees and legal institutions
- Obligation to protect – this obligation prevents private individuals, groups or entities from interfering with the
individual’s civil and political rights.

What are the components of human rights?

- Right to life
- Right to dignity
- Right to order allowing the full outcome of rights (universal declaration of human rights of 1948)
 - Universal and inalienable; interdependent and indivisible, equal and non-discriminatory; both rights and
obligations
What are theories, sources, and foundations of Human Rights Law?
- Sources: 1987 Constitution, the International Bill of Rights
- Theories:
o Social contract theory – the citizens surrender their rights to the general will of the people which must
aim at the impartial good.
o Theory of separation of powers – different bodies exercise legislative, executive and judicial powers.
o Bible verses – page 10

1. How do we relate human rights with human dignity

Human dignity - The quality of being worthy or honourable; worthiness, worth, nobleness, excellence; Dignity indicates
worth that demands respect. Human rights are one particular mechanism – a particular set of practices – for realizing a
certain class of conceptions of human dignity.

The claim of human dignity makes one worthy or deserving of respect. Human rights can be understood to specify
certain forms of social respect – goods, services, opportunities, and protections owed to each person as a matter of
rights – implied by this dignity. And the practice of human rights provides a powerful mechanism to realize in the social
world the underlying dignity of the person. Human rights thus are based on but not reducible or equivalent to human
dignity (or related notions like human needs, well-being, or flourishing). Human rights are one particular mechanism – a
particular set of practices – for realizing a certain class of conceptions of human dignity.
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