The United Nations and Human Rights

Human Rights under the United Nations

Charter
The preamble of the United Nations Charter;
“We the peoples of the United Nations determined to
save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,
which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to
mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human
rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in
the equal rights of men and women and of nations large
and small, and to establish conditions under which
justice and respect for the obligations arising from
treaties and other sources of international law can be
maintained, and to promote social progress and better
standards of life in larger freedom.”
Para 3 of Article1 of the Charter------
“To achieve international co-operation in solving
international problems of an economic, social, cultural,
or humanitarian character, and in promoting and
encouraging respect for human rights and for
fundamental freedoms for all”
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 CHAPTER-IV
GENERAL ASSEMBLY(Art9-22)
Powers of the General Assembly:
Art.10 --The General Assembly may discuss any
questions or any matters within the scope of the
present Charter or relating to the powers and
functions of any organs provided for in the present
Charter, and, except as provided in Article 12, may
make recommendations to the Members of the
United Nations or to the Security Council or to both
on any such questions or matters.
Exception:Art.12;
Obligations:Art13(1)
 Subsidiary organs
 (A) General Assembly: Art.22 of the Charter, empowered to establish
such subsidiary organs as it deems necessary for the performance of
its functions.
 International Law Commission; --established by its resolution of
21st November, 1947
 Special Committee on Decolonization;--established by its resolution
of 27th November 1961
 Special Committee against Apartheid;-- 6th November 1962
 United Nations Council for Namibia; 19th May 1967
 Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the
Human Rights of the Palestinian People and other Arabs of the
Occupied Territories; --19th December, 1968
 Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People; -- 10th November, 1975
Treaties
 International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) 1966;
 International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR)1966;
Human Rights Treaties
Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, 1966;
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women, 1979;
Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989;
Convention of the Rights of Migrant Worker and their
Families, 1990;
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearance, 2006;
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
2008;
TREATY BODIES
1. Human Rights Committee: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
1966 and its Optional Protocols ---
The First Protocol established an individual complaint system. It was adopted by
the UN General Assembly on 16 December 1966 and entered into force on 23 March
1976. it had 35 signatories and 116 states parties. Two of the ratifying States—
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago—have denounced the protocol.
The Second Optional Protocol aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. It was
created on 15 December 1989 and entered into force on 11 July 1991. As of December
2021, the Optional Protocol has 89 state parties. The most recent country to ratify
was Armenia, on 18 March 2021.
2. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 and its Optional Protocol
3. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: International Convention on
the elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination
4. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol
5. Committee Against Torture: Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment and its Optional Protocol
6. Committee on the Rights of the Child: Convention on
the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols
7. Committee on Migrant Workers: International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
8. Committee on the Right of Persons with
Disabilities: International Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol
Human Rights Committee(Art.28)

Composition
Mandate:
 Reporting
 Considering Inter-State Complaints (Article
41,ICCPR)
 Issuing General Comments(Article 40, ICCPR)
 Considering Individual Communications ( Optional
Protocol I)
Requirements to Individual Communication
 The victim must be a national of a State party to the
Protocol;
 The victim must have exhausted all available domestic
remedies (Arts. 2 and 5 of Protocol 1 to ICCPR);
 The communication must not be anonymous, must not
abuse the right of submission of such communications,
and must not be incompatible with the provisions of
the Covenant (Art. 4); and
 The matter must not be under investigation under
another procedure of international investigation or
settlement (Art. 5 of Protocol 1 to the ICCPR).
 Fatima Andersen v Denmark, UN Doc CCPR/C/99/D/1868/2009 (26 July 2010)
—
 The UN Human Rights Committee has held that to be a 'victim' under
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights requires the
identification of specific consequences of the conduct that forms the basis of the
complaint, such consequences specifically affecting the alleged victim.
 Victim status'
 The Committee noted that a person cannot make a communication under the
Covenant 'in theoretical terms' on behalf of a collective interest. Rather,
any person claiming to be a victim of a violation of a right protected by the
Covenant must demonstrate either that a State party has by an act or
omission already impaired the exercise of his right or that such impairment
is imminent, basing his argument for example on legislation in force or on a
judicial or administrative decision or practice.

 Referred Case: Toonen V.Australia, (HRC, 1994)

Weaknesses with respect to the charter provisions on
human rights:
 The Charter of the United Nation does not make
provisions for the implementation of human rights;
 Human Rights and fundamental freedoms are not
defined in the Charter
Promotion and protection of Human Rights by
(the principal organs of) the United Nations

 Human Rights Consciousness;

 Codification of the Law of Human Rights;
 Monitoring of Human Rights;
 Procedure for Individual’s Complaints;
 Compilation of Information on the Violations of
Human Rights;
 Examination of Human Rights Situations;
 Coordination of Human Rights Activities;
 Advisory Services;
ICCPR ---INDIA’S VIEW
Human Rights and the India constitution:
India and the Universal Declaration;
India and the ICCPR;
India and the ICESCR
RIGHT TO LIFE ( ART6 OF ICCPR &
ART21OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION)

 Procedure prescribed by law for depriving a person of his life and

personal Liberty must be right, just & fair and not arbitrary, fanciful
or oppressive.— Maneka Gandhi Vs. UOI, AIR 1978 SC 597,;
 “Rape is a crime not only against the person of a woman, it is a
crime against the entire society. It destroys the entire psychology of
a woman and pushes her into deep emotional crisis. Rape is
therefore the most hated crime. It is a crime against basic human
rights and is violative of the victims most cherished right, namely,
right to life which includes right to live with human dignity
contained in Article 21”– Chairman Railway Board v. Chandrima,
(2000) 2 SCC 465.
 Bodhisattwa v. Ms.Subhra Chakraborthy, 1996 AIR 922,
 Right to life does not include ‘Right to die’
P.Rathinam Vs. UOI; section 309 was held to be
irrational and deserves to be effaced from the statute
book to humanize our penal laws.
Gian Kaur Vs. State of Punjab – Right to life is a
natural right embodied in Art21, but suicide is an
unnatural termination or extinction of life.
Protection of Prisoners –
People’s Union of Democratic Rights v. UOI;
Sunil Batara v. Delhi Administration;
Denial or permission to detenue to get his book
published—
State of Maharashtra v. Prabhakar Pandurang
Right to health and Medical Assistance;
Paramananda Katara v. UOI;
Consumer Education and Research Centre v. UOI;
Right to Livelihood—
Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation
Arrest and detention of Judgment debtor—
Jolly George Varghese v. Bank of India
Protection of health workers – Right to live with
human dignity:
Occupational Health and Safety Association v. UOI
Right of detenue to socialize with his family-
members and friends to have interview with his
lawyer –
Francis Coralie v. Union Territory of Delhi.
Reproductive Rights:
Suchitra Srivastava v. Chandigarh Administration
Right to Shelter :
Chameli Singh Vs. State of U.P;
Right to Education;
Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka;
Unni Krishnan v. State of A.P