HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION (HUMRIGHTS)

GENERAL PRINCIPLES, NATURE AND DEFINITION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” - Nelson Mandela
– The very purpose of being human is enjoying and having your human rights. Pag tinanggalan ka ng human
rights, para ka na ding tinanggalan ng pagkatao.

All human beings upon birth automatically belong to a society. They are born free, equal and human
dignity and rights. The first society he belongs to is his family, then at higher levels, to his neighborhood, his
municipality, his country and the international community. The rights he is entitled to are enjoyed without any
distinction as to race, color, sex, language, religion, origin and social status.

International Humanitarian Law

– Rights of individuals (genocide, crimes against humanity)

History has shown that as man started to live in a society, his inherent rights began to be violated by his
own fellowmen. The state authorities who are supposed to protect his rights are even his persecutors.

Human rights are generally defined as those rights which are inherent in our nature, and without which,
we cannot live as human beings.

According to Philippine Commission on Human Rights, human rights are supreme, inherent and
inalienable rights to life, dignity and self-development. It is the essence of these rights that makes man human.

Basic Characteristics of Human Rights

1. Inherent – Human rights are not granted by any person of authority; you do not have to do anything, you
already have human rights
2. Fundamental – Without human rights, the life and dignity of man will be meaningless; human rights is part
of our lives
3. Inalienable – Human rights cannot be rightfully taken away from a free individual; bawal din ipagkait
4. Imprescriptible – Human rights cannot be lost even by long passage of time; unlimited, can’t be expired
5. Indivisible – Human rights are not capable of being divided; bawal hatiin
6. Universal – Human rights are universal to all human beings irrespective of their origin, status or condition or
place where they live; kahit nasaan ka, may human rights ka
7. Interdependent – The fulfillment of one (human right) cannot be had without the realization of the other

Classification of Rights
1. According to Source:
 Natural rights – God-given rights acknowledged by everybody to be morally good
– They are unwritten, but they prevail as norms of the society
 Constitutional rights – Those rights which are conferred and protected by the Constitution and which
cannot be modified or taken away by the law-making body
 Statutory rights – Natural rights; It came from statute/law
2. According to Recipient
 Individual rights – Those rights being accorded to individuals
 Collective rights – Also called “people’s right” or “solidary right” are rights of the society, those that
can be enjoyed only in company with others
– Example: amend the Constitution with approval of 12% of voters

3. According to Aspects of Life

 Civil rights – Those rights which the law will enforce at the instance of private individuals for the
purpose of securing to them the enjoyment of their means of happiness
 Political rights – Those rights which enable us to participate in running the affairs of the government
either directly or indirectly
 Economic rights – Economic and social rights are those which the law confers upon the people to
enable them to achieve social and economic development, thereby ensuring them of their wellbeing,
happiness and financial security
 Social rights
 Cultural rights

4. According to Struggle for Recognition

 First generation rights – Covers civil and political rights which derives primarily from the 17th and
18th centuries reformist theories and which are associated with the English, American and English
Revolutions
– It conceives human rights more on negative (“freedom from”) than positive
(“rights to”) terms; it favors the abstention rather than the intervention of the government in the exercise
of freedoms and in the quest for human dignity
 Second generation rights – Covers economic, social and cultural rights which find their origin
primarily in the socialist tradition and have been variously promoted by the revolutionary struggles and
welfare movements
– It conceives human rights more in positive terms, i.e. “right to…” they are
fundamental claims to social equality
 Third generation rights – Covers collective rights
– While drawing upon, inter-linking and reconceptualizing value demands
associated with first and second generations of rights, it is best understood as product, albeit one still in
formation, of both the rise and decline of the nation-States in the last half of the 20th century
– An example is the right of the people to development or healthy environment

5. According to Derogability
 Absolute or non-derogable – Those that cannot be suspended nor taken away nor restricted or limited
even in extreme emergency and even if the government invokes national security
 Derogable or can-belimited or relative rights – May be may be suspended or restricted or limited
depending on the circumstances which call for the preservation of social life

Categories of Human Rights

1. As Fundamental in Political Rights
– The Bill of Rights in the Philippine Constitution contains these fundamental freedoms of the individual, such
as the freedom of conscience and religion; freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression; freedom of the
press and communication; freedom of association, freedom of peaceful assembly
– They also include the rights to privacy, reputation, and human dignity (Art. III, Philippine Constitution; Art.
19, Civil and Political Rights)

2. As Democratic Rights
– Human rights are also categorized as democratic rights
– These rights are commonly exercised in a democratic state such as the right to vote and to participate in the
electoral process, and the right to participate in public or government affairs (Arts 1 and 3, Philippine
Constitution; Arts. 2,4, and 5, Civil and Political Rights)

3. As Mobility Rights
– That is the right to travel and to return to one’s country, and the freedom of movement within the country
– These rights are national as well as international in character. (Art. 2, Civil and Political Rights; Art. 3, Sec. 6,
Philippine Constitution)

4. As Right to Life, Liberty and Security of the Person

– This is the right to life, liberty and security of a person
– These rights represent the core of fundamental rights which relate to the right to physical and personal
integrity, consistent with human dignity
– They include the right to protection against political and other extrajudicial killings, the disappearances of
persons, and torture and other cruel or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Art. 3, Sec. 1, Philippine
Constitution; Art. 6, Civil and Political Rights)

5. As Legal Rights
– Legal rights include the freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention and the protection against unreasonable
search and seizure, right to counsel, right to fair and public trial, presumption of innocence, and the right against
self-incrimination
– These rights constitute due process that can be invoked by persons accused

6. As Rights of Equality
– Or right against discrimination
– Everyone is equal before the law and is entitled to equal protection or the equal benefit of law
– It includes the protection against discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, religion, ethnic origin, age,
marital status and political and social condition
(Art. 3, Sec. 1 Philippine Constitution; Art. 32, Civil Code; Arts. 2 & 4, Convention on Racial Discrimination)

7. As Reproductive Rights
– These rights include the right to found a family and bear children, to gender sensitivity, and biomedical
technology, and to family planning
– While, Article XV, Sec 3 of the Philippine Constitution guarantees the right to found a family, it prohibits the
right to abortion in view of Art II, Sec 12 which guarantees the protection of the life of the unborn
8. As Protective Rights of Persons in Armed Conflict
– These rights are provided in the international humanitarian law for the protection of children, women, and
noncombatants during internal armed conflicts

9. As Right of Self-Determination
– This right was asserted by colonial peoples in their struggle for independence
– This means the right of people to be free from colonial rule and decide their own destiny

10. As Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

– They are more standards to be observed by the state
– These rights include the right to social security, social insurance, protection and assistance to the family, the
right to an adequate standard of living, adequate food, clothing, and housing, and the right to physical and
mental health
– They also include the right to education and the right to be part of the artistic and scientific life of the country

11. As Workers Rights

– Which include the right to association, the right to organize unions, to bargain collectively, the prohibition of
employment of children, and the guarantee of minimum wages and other support

12. As Aboriginal Rights

– These rights are associated with the right of indigenous cultural tribes or communities

13. As Minority Group Rights

– These rights include the protection of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities