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HUMAN RIGHTS

EDUCATION
A. FUNDAMENTAL
CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES
OF HUMAN RIGHTS
RIGHTS
Right is the quality in a person
by which he can do certain
actions or possess certain things
that belong to him by virtue of
some title.

A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN RIGHTS 2


RIGHTS
Freedom: The state of being
free or liberated. It means the
power or condition of acting
without compulsion.

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RIGHTS
Right vs. Freedom: Rights and
freedom are two concepts that
overlap to a certain extent.
Right is moral or legal
entitlement whereas freedom is a
state or quality of being free.

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RIGHTS
Types of Rights
1. Natural rights
2. Moral rights
3. Legal rights
4. Fundamental rights
5. Political rights
6. Civil rights
7. Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

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RIGHTS

Natural Rights
A right that is conceived as part
of natural law and that is therefore
thought to exist independently of rights
created by government or society, such
as the right to life, liberty, and
property.

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RIGHTS
Moral Rights
These rights depend on the
ethical feelings of man, and they are
not guaranteed by any legal authority.
Example: Parents have the right
that they should be assisted by their
children in their old age.

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RIGHTS

Legal Rights
A right created or recognized by
law.

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RIGHTS
Fundamental Rights
Fundamental rights are a group
of rights that have been recognized by
the Supreme Court as requiring a high
degree of protection from government
encroachment. These rights are
specifically identified in a constitution
or have been found under due process
of law.

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RIGHTS
Political Rights
Political rights are said to refer
to the right to participate, directly or
indirectly, in the establishment or
administration of government, the right
of suffrage, the right to hold public
office, the right of petition, and, in
general, the rights appurtenant to
citizenship vis-à-vis the management
of government.

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RIGHTS
Civil Rights
those rights that belong to every
citizen of the state or country, or, in a
wider sense, to all its inhabitants, and
are not connected with the organization
or administration of the government.

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RIGHTS
Civil Rights
They include the rights of
property, marriage, equal protection of
the laws, freedom of contract, etc., or
as otherwise defined civil rights are
rights appertaining to a person by
virtue of his citizenship in a state or
community. Such a term may also
refer, in its general sense, to rights
capable of being enforced or redressed
in a civil action.

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RIGHTS
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR)
ESCR are human rights concerning the basic
social and economic conditions needed to live a life
of dignity and freedom, relating to work and
workers’ rights, social security, health, education,
food, water, housing, healthy environment, and
culture.

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RIGHTS
Cultural Rights
The objective of these rights is to
guarantee that people and communities have
access to culture and can participate in the
culture of their election.

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RIGHTS
Cultural Rights
Cultural rights are human rights that
aim at assuring the enjoyment of culture and
its components in conditions of equality,
human dignity, and non-discrimination. They
are rights related to themes such as language;
cultural and artistic production; participation
in cultural life; cultural heritage; intellectual
property rights, author’s rights; minorities
and access to culture, among others.

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RIGHTS
Social Rights
Social rights are the rights of
people to achieve their basic human
needs. In domestic constitutional
orders, common social rights include
the right to healthcare (right to health),
right to housing, right to food, right to
education, right to social security, and
right to work.

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HUMAN
RIGHTS
Definition of Human Rights
Human rights are rights that pertain to
man simply because he is human. They are
part of his natural birth, right, innate, and
inalienable.
Human rights are rights inherent to all
human beings, regardless of race, sex,
nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or
any other status.
Because they are inherent, human
rights are not granted by the state but can
only be recognized and protected by it.
A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN
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RIGHTS
HUMAN
RIGHTS

International Human Rights Law


International human rights law 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.

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HUMAN
RIGHTS

Scope of Human Rights


The scope of human rights can be
understood to include those that relate to an
individual’s social, economic, cultural,
political, and civil relations.

A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN


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RIGHTS
HUMAN
RIGHTS
Not Human Rights:
1. Ordinary or legal rights: They are
possessed not because of our humanity
but because of some transaction that we
enter or the happening of an event.
2. Contractual rights: Contractual rights
are the set of rights guaranteed whenever
people enter into a valid contract with
one another.

A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN


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HUMAN
RIGHTS

Human Dignity
Human dignity is regarded as the
foundation of human rights. It is the
standpoint from which individuals can claim
rights from one another.

A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN


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HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

Education: It is a discipline concerned with teaching and learning methods in schools or school-like
environments as opposed to various non-formal and informal means of socialization (e.g., rural development
projects and education through parent-child relationships.
Education can be thought of as the transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a society.

A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN


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RIGHTS
HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

Human rights education: Human rights education is defined as training, dissemination, and information efforts
aimed at the building of a universal culture of human rights through the imparting of knowledge and skills and
the molding of attitudes and directed to:

a. The strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;

A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN


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RIGHTS
HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

b. The full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity;
c.. The promotion of understanding, tolerance, gender equality, and friendship among all nations, indigenous
people, and racial, national, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups;
d. The enabling of all persons to participate effectively in a free society;
e. The furtherance of the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN


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HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

Human rights education aims to build an understanding and appreciation for learning about rights and
learning through rights.
A comprehensive education in human rights not only provides knowledge about human rights and the
mechanisms that protect them, but also imparts the skills needed to promote, defend, and apply human rights in
daily life.

A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN


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HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

Goal of Human Rights Education: The ultimate goal of education for human rights is empowerment giving
people the knowledge and skills to take control of their own lives and the decisions that affect them.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Domestic Sources
1. 1987 Philippine Constitution (Example: Article III of the
1987 Philippine Constitution.)
2. Domestic Laws (Examples: Magna Carta of Women (R.A.
9710), Magna Carta for Disabled Person (R.A. 7277), The
Child and Youth Welfare Code (P.D. 603)
3. Rules of Procedure (Example: Rules 115 of the Rules of
Court, Writ of Amparo, Writ of Habeas Corpus)

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Domestic Sources
4. Jurisprudence or case laws (Example: The Supreme Court
in the case of Imbong vs. Ochoa, held that “Even if not
formally established, the right to life, being grounded on
natural law, is inherent and, thereof, not a certain of, or
dependent upon a particular law, custom, or belief. It
precedes and transcends any authority or the laws of
men.”

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
International Sources
1. Treaties – An agreement formally signed, ratified, or
adhered to between two nations or sovereigns; an
international agreement concluded between two or more
states in written form and governed by international law.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
International Sources
1. Treaties
Examples of treaties where the Philippines are
signatories are the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of
all Forms of Discrimination against Women, the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural rights.
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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
International Sources
2. Customary International Law – Customary international
law is an international law that derives from the practice
of states and is accepted by them as legally binding.
Customary international law is made up of rules that come
from “a general practice accepted as law” and that exist
independent of treaty law. While some States have not
ratified important treaty law, they remain nonetheless
bound by rules of customary law.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
International Sources
3. General Principle of Law – A principle that gives rise to
international legal obligations. General principles of law
are legal norms existing among the majority of nations.
Enduring examples of general principles of law, typically
followed in most jurisdictions, are the doctrines of good
faith, estoppel, and equity.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Core International Human Rights Instruments and
their monitoring bodies.
There are 9 core international human rights
instruments. Each of these instruments has established a
committee of experts to monitor the implementation of the
treaty provisions by its States parties.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Core International Human Rights Instruments and
their monitoring bodies.

1. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms


of Racial Discrimination.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Core International Human Rights Instruments and
their monitoring bodies.

2. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms


of Racial Discrimination.
• Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights.
• Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of
the death penalty.
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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Core International Human Rights Instruments and
their monitoring bodies.

3. International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural


Rights.
• Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Economic, Social,
and Cultural Rights.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Core International Human Rights Instruments and
their monitoring bodies.

4. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of


Discrimination against Women
• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Core International Human Rights Instruments and
their monitoring bodies.

5. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or


Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Core International Human Rights Instruments and
their monitoring bodies.
6. Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child in the Involvement of children in armed conflict.
• Optical protocol to the convention on the rights of the
child on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child
pornography.
• Optical protocol to the convention on the rights of the
child on a communications procedure.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Core International Human Rights Instruments and
their monitoring bodies.

7. International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of


All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Core International Human Rights Instruments and
their monitoring bodies.

8. International Convention for the Protection of All Persons


from Enforced Disappearance.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Core International Human Rights Instruments and
their monitoring bodies.

9. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.


• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities.

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RIGHTS
SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Jus Cogens – Jus cogens (or ius cogens) is a Latin phrase
that literally means “compelling law.” A peremptory norm of
general international law (jus cogen) is a norm accepted and
recognized by the international community of States as a
whole as a norm from which no derogation is permitted and
which can be modified only by a subsequent norm of general
international law having the same character.

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RIGHTS
BASIC PRINCIPLES OR
CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN
RIGHTS

1. Human rights are inherent.


Human rights are inherent because
they are 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.

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BASIC PRINCIPLES OR
CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN
RIGHTS

2. Human rights are universal.


Universality means that human beings
are endowed with equal human rights
simply by virtue of being human,
wherever they live and whoever they
are, regardless of their status or any
particular characteristics.

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BASIC PRINCIPLES OR
CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN
RIGHTS

3. Human rights are Fundamental.


Human rights are fundamental rights
because, without them, the life and
dignity of man will be meaningless.

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BASIC PRINCIPLES OR
CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN
RIGHTS

4. Human rights are Inalienable.


Human rights are inalienable: you
cannot lose these rights any more than
you can cease being a human being.

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BASIC PRINCIPLES OR
CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN
RIGHTS

5. Human rights are Interdependent.


Interdependence means the state of
being dependent upon one another.
Thus, all rights – political, civil,
social, cultural, and economic – are
equal in importance and none can be
fully enjoyed without the others.

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BASIC PRINCIPLES OR
CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN
RIGHTS
6. Human rights are Indivisible.
Indivisibility generally means that the
major categories of human rights –
particularly civil and political rights (CPR)
and economic, social, and cultural rights
(ESCR) – are inherently complementary
and equal in importance and that any
attempt to privilege one set of rights over
another displaces their natural balance and
compromises their effectiveness.

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BASIC PRINCIPLES OR
CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN
RIGHTS

7. Human rights are Equal and Non-


Discriminatory. Equality affirms that
all human beings are born free and
equal. Equality presupposes that all
individuals have the same rights and
deserve the same level of respect. All
people have the right to be treated
equally.

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BASIC PRINCIPLES OR
CHARACTERISTICS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
Hierarchy of Human Rights. Whether
civil, political, economic, social, or
cultural in nature, they are all inherent to
the dignity of every human person.
Consequently, they all have equal status as
rights. There is no such thing as a “small”
right. There is no hierarchy of human
rights.
Exception: The right to life

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BASIC PRINCIPLES OR
CHARACTERISTICS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
Hierarchy of Human Rights. In the
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the Human Rights
Committee described the right to life
enunciated in Article 6 of the Covenant as
‘the supreme right from which no
derogation is permitted even in time of
public emergency.’

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RIGHTS
THREE GENERATIONS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
The three generations of human
rights were first formally established by
Karel Vasak, a Czech jurist, in 1979.

First-generation human rights


The first generation is sometimes
referred to as “blue rights.”

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RIGHTS
THREE GENERATIONS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
First-generation human rights
The first generation of human
rights encompasses an individual’s civil
and political rights.
These are “liberty-orientated” 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.
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THREE GENERATIONS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
First-generation human rights
First-generation rights can be
divided into two sub-categories.
• The first sub-category relates to
norms of “physical and civil
security.” This includes not
committing acts of torture, slavery,
or treating people inhumanely.

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RIGHTS
THREE GENERATIONS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
First-generation human rights
First-generation rights can be
divided into two sub-categories.
• The second sub-category relates to
norms of “civil-political liberties or
empowerments.” This includes the
rights such as freedom of religion
and the right to political
participation.

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THREE GENERATIONS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
Second-generation human rights
The second-generation rights are
popularly known as “Red Rights.”
Second-generation rights broaden
the primary political focus of earlier
views to include 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.
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THREE GENERATIONS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
Second-generation human rights
Second-generation rights can also
be divided into two sub-categories.
• The first sub-category relates to
norms of the fulfillment of basic
needs, such as nutrition and
healthcare.

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RIGHTS
THREE GENERATIONS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
Second-generation human rights
Second-generation rights can also
be divided into two sub-categories.
• The second sub-category relates to
norms of the fulfillment of
“economic needs.” This includes
fair wages and sufficient standards
of living.

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THREE GENERATIONS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
Third-generation human rights
The third-generation rights are
designated as “Green Rights.” The third
generation of human rights encompasses
broad class rights.
These include the rights to live in
an environment that is clean and
protected from destruction, and rights to
cultural, political, and economic
development.

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THREE GENERATIONS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
Third-generation human rights
Third-generation rights can be
divided into two sub-categories as well.
• The first sub-category relates to
“the self-determination of peoples”
and includes different aspects of
community development and
political status.

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THREE GENERATIONS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
Third-generation human rights
Third-generation rights can be
divided into two sub-categories as well.
• The second sub-category is related
to the rights of ethnic and religious
minorities

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
There are two main approaches to
explaining the nature and meaning of human
rights, to wit:
1. Philosophical or theoretical approach.
2. Pragmatic or Utilitarian approach.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Philosophical or Theoretical Approach
These are the five major theories to explain
the rights of human beings”
1. Theory of Natural Rights
2. Theory of Social Rights
3. Theory of Legal Rights
4. Theory of Historical Rights
5. Idealistic theory of rights

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Natural Rights
In the early modern era, theories of
natural rights were advanced by seminal
thinkers, including Hugo Grotius, Thomas
Hobbes, and Samuel Pufendorf. The most
influential of these was the English
Philosopher John Locke, especially in his
Second Treatise of Government published in
the late seventeenth century.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Natural Rights
Locke wrote that all individuals are
equal in the sense that they are born with
certain “inalienable” natural rights. That is
rights that are God-given and can never be
taken or even given away. Among these
fundamental natural rights, Locked said, are
“life, liberty, and property.”

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Natural Rights
Locke believed that the most basic
human law of nature is the preservation of
mankind. To serve that purpose, he reasoned,
individuals have both a right and a duty to
preserve their own lives. Murderers, however,
forfeit their right to life since they act outside
the law of reason.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Social Rights
The Social Welfare Theory is also
known as the Social Expediency Theory.
The advocates of this theory believe
that law, custom, and natural rights, all are
conditioned by social expediency. For
instance, the right to freedom of speech is not
absolute but rather regulated in accordance
with the requirements of social expediency.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Social Rights
The Utilitarians, Jeremy Bentham and
John Stuart Mill are the real exponents of the
Social Welfare Theory of Rights. They set up
the principle of the greatest happiness of the
greatest number and made it the criterion of
utility. But utility, they believed, should be
determined by considerations of reason and
experience.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Legal Rights
Legal right comes into existence when
the State recognizes it. Once the State
acknowledges the existence of a right, only
then it can enforce it.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN HUMAN
RIGHTS
Theory of Social Rights
The Social Welfare Theory has played
an important role in the development of a
number of human rights. A large number of
economic rights have been incorporated in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and in the International Covenant on
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights,
wherein, it is expressly provided that the
entitlement to these rights has to be “in
accordance with the organization and
resources of each State.”
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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Legal Rights
In the opinion of supporters of legal
rights theory, rights are the creation of the
State. As such, they are neither absolute nor
inherent in the nature of man. These rights
such as the right to life, liberty, or property
are artificially created by the law of the land.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Legal Rights
Thomas Hobbes (an English
philosopher, scientist, and historian), one of
the ardent supporters of the legal rights
theory holds the view that the fundamental
rights of individuals are the right of self-
preservation which can be protected by the
state in a better manner than by any other
means.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Historical Rights
The Historical Theory of Rights
emphasizes that rights are the product of
history. These customs and usages passed on
from one generation to another and were
ultimately recognized as inherent claims and
rights.

Example: right of way.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Historical Rights
Those rights which people think they
ought to have are just those rights which they
have been accustomed to have or which they
have a tradition (whether true or false) of
having once possessed.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Idealistic Rights
The idealistic Theory of Rights is also
known as the Personality Theory of Rights.
This theory insists on the inner
development of man, on the development of
his potentiality. Hence, it treats the right of
personality as a supreme and absolute right.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Theory of Idealistic Rights
The chief merit of this theory is that it
insists upon the right of personality as the
only absolute right and all other rights are
derived from it and are conditioned by it.

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THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Pragmatic or Utilitarian Approach
Every right, whether it has been
perceived as inalienable or otherwise can
have validly and effectiveness only through
some process or institution. Thus, human
rights cannot be defined without reference to
institutional settings.
Globally, we have treaties such as the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and
the International Covenants.
A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN RIGHTS 78
THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Pragmatic or Utilitarian Approach
Regionally, we have the European
Convention on Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, the European Social
Charter, the American Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of Man, the American
Convention of Human Rights, and the African
Charter on Human and People’s Rights.

A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN RIGHTS 79


THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY IN
HUMAN RIGHTS
Pragmatic or Utilitarian Approach
Subsidiary treaties are those which deal
with only one specific human right or a very
small number of human rights. These treaties
impose more specific and detailed obligations
upon the state parties.

A. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN RIGHTS 80

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