CHAPTER II – GENERAL

NATURE AND DEFINITION OF

HUMAN RIGHTS
COURSE CONTENT
• Definition Of Human Rights
• Basic Characteristics Of Human Rights
• Classification Of Human Rights
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After studying this CHAPTER, the student should be able to:
• Discuss and explain the meaning of human rights
• Identify the characteristics of human rights
• Discuss the various classification of human rights
 GENERAL NATURE AND
DEFINITION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS
Defining Human Rights
A famous statement that we always heard is that, Human rights are
rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex,
nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.
In our present situation, is this statement real or imaginary?
In this section, we will define the technical meaning of human
rights given by different authorities or organization.
According to Philippine Commission on Human Rights, human
rights as supreme rights, inherent and inalienable rights to life, dignity
and self-development. It is the essence of this rights that makes man
human. With this definition given, we will conclude that the existence
of man attached with it the protection of all his rights as human being.
Human rights are commonly understood as being those rights which
are inherent in the mere fact of being human. The concept of human
rights is based on the belief that every human being is entitled to enjoy
her or his rights without discrimination.
Characteristics of Human Rights
This manifest the supremacy of human rights.
 Inherent – not granted by any person or authority. Human rights do not have to
be bought, earned or inherited; they belong to people simply because they are
human. Human rights are inherent to each individual.
 Fundamental – without them, the life and dignity of man will be meaningless.
 Inalienable – human rights cannot be taken away; no one has the right to
deprive another person of them for any reason. People still have human rights
even when the laws of their countries do not recognize them, or when they
violate them – for example, when slavery is practiced, slaves still have rights
even though these rights are being violated.
 Imprescriptible – do not prescribe and cannot be lost even if man fails to use or
assert them , even by a long passage of time.
 Indivisible – to live in dignity, all human beings are entitled to freedom, security and
decent standards of living concurrently. Human rights are not capable of being
divided. They cannot be denied even when other rights have already been enjoyed.
 Universal – universal in application and they apply irrespective of one’s origin,
status, or condition or place where one lives. Are enforceable without national border.
Are the same foe all human beings regardless of race, sex, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin. We are all born free, and equal in dignity and rights.
 Interdependent – the fulfillment or exercise of one cannot be had without the
realization of the other.
Classification of Human Rights and the Third Generation
It is important to categorize human rights to understand its nature.

According to aspect of life:

oCivil rights – are 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.
Example: rights against involuntary servitude, rights against imprisonment for
non-payment of debt or poll tax, the constitutional rights of the accused.
oPolitical rights – are those rights which enable us to participate in running the
affairs of the government either directly or indirectly.
Example: right to vote, right to information on matters of public concern, right
to initiative and referendum
oEconomic rights and Social rights – are those rights which the law confers
upon the people to enable them to achieve social and economic development,
thereby ensuring them their well-being, happiness and financial security.
Example: right to property, right to education, and promotion of social justice.
oCultural rights – are those rights that ensure the well-being of the
individual and foster the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution
of national culture based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate
of free artistic and intellectual expression.
According to source:
oNatural rights – are God-given rights, acknowledge by everybody to be
morally good. They are unwritten but they prevail as norms of the society.
Example – rights to life, dignity and self-development
oConstitutional rights – are those rights which are conferred and protected by
the Constitution and which cannot be modified or taken away by the law-
making body.
oStatutory rights – are those rights which are provided by law promulgated
by the law-making body and consequently, may be abolished by the same
body.
 Another categorization, offered in 1979 by a Czech jurist, Karel Vasak at the
International Institute of Human Rights in Strabourg, is that there are three
generations of human rights:
o 1st generation civil and political rights
– these are “liberty-oriented” and include the rights to life, liberty and
security of the individual; freedom from torture and slavery; political
participation; freedom of opinion, expression, thought, conscience and
religion; freedom of association and assembly.
- Sometimes called “blue” rights, deal essentially with liberty and
participation in political life. They are fundamentally civil and political in
nature.
o 2nd generation economic, social and cultural rights
- these are “security-oriented” rights, for example the rights to work;
education; a reasonable standard of living; food; shelter and health care.
- related to equality and began to be recognized by governments after World
War II.
- Include a right to be employed in just and favorable condition, right to
food, housing and health care, as well as social security and unemployment
benefits.
- these rights are sometimes referred to as “red” rights.
o 3rd generation solidarity rights
o - these includes the rights to live in an environment that is clean and
protected from destruction, and rights to cultural, political and economic
development, rights to self-determination, etc.
o - those rights that go beyond the mere civil and social, as expressed in
many progressive documents of international law like the 1972 Stockholm
Declaration of United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, the
1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and development, and other pieces of
generally aspirational “soft law”.
o
o - this remains largely unofficial, just as the also used moniker of “green”
rights, and thus houses an extremely broad spectrum of rights.
- Out of these generations, the 3rd generation is the most debated and lacks
both legal and political recognition. This categorization is at odds with the
indivisibility of rights, as it implicitly states that some rights can exist without
others.
END OF CHAPTER
II