Human Rights Notions

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Human Rights Notions

• Bernardo Aguilar-González
• Prescott College

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And all this madness, all this rage, all this
flaming death of our civilization and our hopes,
has been brought about because a set of official
gentlemen, living luxurious lives, mostly stupid,
and all without imagination or heart, have chosen
that it should occur rather than that any one of
them should suffer some infinitesimal rebuff to
his country's pride. -Bertrand Russell
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We set to work to bury people. We pushed them
into the sides of the trenches but bits of them
kept getting uncovered and sticking out, like
people in a badly made bed. Hands were the worst
they would escape from the sand, pointing,
begging - even waving! There was one which we all
shook when we passed, saying, "Good morning," in
a posh voice. Everybody did it. The bottom of the
trench was springy like a mattress because of all
the bodies underneath... Leonard Thompson -
quoted in Ronald Blythe, Akenfield
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Holocausts!
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Human rights yesterdayand today

• Idea of rights dates back to pre-Second World War
  domestic constitutions.
• For our purposes starts with UN Charter in its
  preamble declares as a primary purpose of the
  United Nations
• promoting and encouraging respect for human
  rights and for fundamental freedoms for all
  without distinction as to race, sex, language or
  religion.

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Human rights yesterdayand today (continued)

• In signing on to international human rights
  treaties, states give away some sovereignty and
  make themselves vulnerable to be scrutinized by
  the international community.
• Idea of international human rights make them
  known to all people dont replace domestic
  protection of individuals but make it more
  effective within national systems.
• When a state has ratified a treaty, it is
  supposed to adopt national measures to ensure
  that the treaty is implemented on the national
  level.

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• First developments on international arena
• adoption in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of
  Human Rights and the Convention on the Prevention
  and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
• Antecedents to these
• minority treaties adhered to on bilateral or
  multilateral basis, the Charter of the
  International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg and
  international humanitarian law (was developed
  much earlier).

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Human rights are intended to guarantee freedoms
to secure well-being and dignity for all people
everywhereTo secure

• Freedom from discrimination --- by gender, race
  ethnicity, national origin or religion
• Freedom from want --- to enjoy a decent standard
  of living
• Freedom to develop and realize ones human
  potential
• Freedom from fear --- of threats to personal
  security, from torture, arbitrary arrest and
  other violent acts
• Freedom from injustice and violations of the rule
  of law
• Freedom of thought and speech and to participate
  in decision-making and form associations
• Freedom to obtain decent work --- without
  exploitation

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International Bill ofHuman Rights

• contains following instruments
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
  1948
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political
  Rights (CCPR), 1966
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social
  and Cultural Rights (CESCR), 1966

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International Bill of Rights

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  recognizes the indivisibility of human rights.
  Nevertheless, separate covenants evolved on civil
  and political rights and economic,social and
  cultural rights, due to the Cold War.
• Universal Declaration of Human RightsBuilding
  on the principles of the UN Charter, it was
  adopted on 10 December, 1948. It is the primary
  document proclaiming human rights standards and
  norms. The declaration recognizes the
  universality, indivisibility and inalienability
  of the rights of all people as the foundation of
  equality, freedom, justice and peace in the world
• http//www.un.org/rights/50/decla.htm

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Specific Rights Recognized

• Right to freedom and equality of rights
• Right of no discrimination by means of any
  distinction
• Right to life, liberty and security of person
• Prohibition of slavery and torture
• Right to recognition and equality in front of the
  law
• Right to due Process for arrest, exile and
  detention
• Right to due justice by adequate tribunals

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Specific Rights Recognized

• Right to innocence presumption and typified
  crimes
• Right to privacy
• Right to freedom of movement and residence within
  the borders of a state
• Right to move across countries
• Right to asylum
• Right to a nationality
• Right to marriage and family
• Right to property
• Freedom of opinion and expression
• Freedom of assembly and association
• Right to government, public service and democracy

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Specific Rights Recognized

• Right to work, equal pay and unionization
• Right to rest and leisure
• Right to an adequate standard of living
• Right of mothers and children of special health
  care
• Right to education and full development of their
  personality
• Right to participate in the cultural life of
  their community
• Right to the protection of their moral and
  material interests
• Right to a social and international order that
  guarantees these rights

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• Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by
  the UN General Assembly as a "common standard of
  achievement". UDHR is not a treaty. However,
  today, many of its provisions have become part of
  international customary law.
• UDHR codified with the adoption of two Covenants
  in 1966 the CCPR, and the CESCR.
• The two covenants are different in nature because
  of different type of rights that each addresses.

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International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights - Human Rights of the First Generation
Adopted in 1966 and entered into force in 1976,
the ICCPR defines a broad range of civil and
political rights for all people. It has been
ratified by 144 states. http//www.unhchr.ch/html
/menu3/b/a_ccpr.htm
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International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights - Human Rights of the First Generation

• Right to self determination
• States the obligation of the states to protect
  the rights established in the covenant and the
  permissible exceptions.
• Concentrates on those liberties that affect
  personal freedoms-civil rights- and political
  rights.

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International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights-Human Rights of the Second
Generation
Also introduced in 1966 and entered into force in
1976, IESCR defines the economic, social and
cultural rights of people. It introduced a new
way of looking at development --- a rights-based
perspective. This one has been ratified by 142
states. http//www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_cescr
.htm
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International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights-Human Rights of the Second
Generation

• Right to self determination
• States the obligation of the states to protect
  the rights established in the covenant and the
  permissible exceptions.
• Concentrates on those liberties that rights of
  social groups and the rights of individuals to a
  socially and culturally rewarding life

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Other major human rights instruments -Human
Rights of the Third Generation

• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
  Racial Discrimination (CERD), 1965
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
  Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 1979
• The Convention against Torture (CAT), 1984
• The Convention on the Rights of theChild, 1989
• The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
  and its Protocol, 1951 and 1967

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International Covenant on the Elimination of all
Forms of Racial Discrimination
The ICERD was adopted in 1965 and entered into
force in 1969 in the aftermath of
de-colonization, a period characterized by
apartheid and racial and ethnic conflicts. It
deals with a particular form of discrimination
--- that based on race, colour, descent or
national or ethnic origin. The Convention has
been ratified by 155 countries http//www.unhchr.
ch/html/menu3/b/d_icerd.htm
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
Adopted in 1989 and entered into force in 1990,
the CRC recognizes the need for specific
attention to promoting the rights of children to
support their growth, development and becoming
worthy citizens of the world. It has been
ratified by 191 countries making it almost
universal. http//www.unicef.org/crc/
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Ive seen people get their hands cut off, a
ten-year-old girl raped and then die, and so many
men and women burned alive... So many times I
just cried inside my heart because I didnt dare
cry out loud. - fourteen-year-old girl, abducted
in January 1999 by the Revolutionary United
Front, a rebel group in Sierra Leone
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They are paid so badly that they have to borrow
from the workshop owner to visit home. They then
are not allowed to change jobs until the debt is
repaid - so they have to pay whatever pay they
are offered - and they are not offered enough to
repay their debt. They are trapped. They have
fallen into "debt bondage" , a UN recognized form
of slavery. In 2002 they were paid on average
just 25c American per diamond cut and polished.
They cut on average about 4 to 6 diamonds a day.
About 90 of the world's gem diamonds are cut in
India - many in workshops employing these
children.
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Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The CAT was adopted in 1984 and entered into
force in 1989. It elaborated on how to ensure
the freedom not to be subjected to torture or
degrading treatment., by laying out the steps to
be taken by states to prevent torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment. It has been ratified by 119
countries. http//www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_ca
t39.htm
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East Timor
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Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discriminationagainst WomenAdopted and opened
for signature, ratification and accession
byGeneral Assembly resolution 34/180 of 18
December 1979entry into force 3 September 1981,
in accordance with article 27(1)

• Seeks to ensure the self determination of womens
  rights to a job, education and other first and
  second generation human rights
• Includes quantitative criteria of representation

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Afghanistan only?
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Some Newer Human Rights Recognized
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International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of AllMigrant Workers and Members of
Their FamiliesAdopted by General Assembly
resolution 45/158 of 18 December 1990 (not in
force)

• Reaffirms all the rights established in the UDHR
  specifying what specific violations are for the
  case of migrant workers.
• Is Emphatic in affirming the right to free
  transit with the necessary legal restrictions.

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Declaration on the Right to DevelopmentAdopted
by General Assembly resolution 41/128 of 4
December 1986
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Declaration on the Right of Peoples to
PeaceApproved by General Assembly resolution
39/11 of 12 November 1984
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Rio Declaration on Environment and
DevelopmentThe United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development,
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Derogations during statesof emergency

• Civil and political rights may be derogated from
  during a state of emergency.
• Derogating from human rights means to limit the
  extent to which these obligations apply.
• The derogation clause is to be found in Article 4
  of the CCPR.

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General Commenton Article 4

• The Committee holds the view that the measures
  taken under Article 4 are of an exceptional and
  temporary nature and may only last as long as the
  life of the nation concerned is threatened and
  that in times of emergency, the protection of
  human rights becomes all the more important,
  particularly those rights from which no
  derogation can be made.

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Criteria for lawful derogation

• temporary derogations only
• exceptional threat to the life of the nation must
  exist
• official proclamation of a state of emergency
  must be made
• notification to other states and/or relevant
  treaty-monitoring body
• reasonable proportionality between means employed
  and end to be realized must exist
• other obligations under international law remain
  applicable
• measures taken to derogate must not be
  discriminatory.

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The following rights arenon-derogable

• the right to life
• freedom from torture
• freedom from slavery
• freedom from post facto legislation and other
  judicial guarantees
• right to recognition beforethe law
• freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

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The Office of theHigh Commissionerfor Human
Rights

• Broad mandate of UNHCHR createdby the General
  Assembly resolution of20 December 1993.
• Responsibilities of the High Commissioner
• "to adopt and to foster a rights based approach
  across the whole spectrum of civil, cultural,
  economic, political and social rights, to promote
  and protect the realization of the right to
  development and to specifically include women's
  rights as human rights."

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The Office of theHigh Commissionerfor Human
Rights (continued)

• UNHCHR present in a number of countries carries
  out monitoring and promotional activities there.
• Important for UNICEF to coordinate its work in
  the field of monitoring and reporting with the
  Office of the High Commissioner.

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Regional Human Rights

• Three regional human rights frameworks/treaties
  in addition to the international framework
• African Charter on Human andPeoples' Rights
  (1981)
• American Convention onHuman Rights (1969)
• the European Convention for theProtection of
  Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950).

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• A number of other human rights instruments on
  the regional level cover certain groups of people
  or certain issues
• Concerning children
• African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the
  Child (adopted in 1990 but not yet in force)
• European Convention on the Exercise of Children's
  Rights (adopted in 1996 but not yet in force).
• Normally, a regional treaty provides more
  specific provisions. If conflicting treaty
  provisions the one that grants the greatest
  protection prevails.

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ADEN (Reuters) - Yemen has asked the United
States for access to 17 Yemeni men held at a U.S.
military base in Cuba to check on their
condition, a senior Yemeni official said on
Monday. The U.S. has flown almost 150 prisoners,
shackled and blindfolded during the journey, to
its Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba from
Afghanistan, and is holding them in wire cages.
The U.S. government says its captives are highly
dangerous and therefore it is taking extreme
security measures. It has not classified them as
prisoners of war, a label which carries specific
rights under the Geneva Convention. The
prisoners were captured during the U.S.-led war
in Afghanistan that ousted the Taliban rulers
accused of protecting Osama bin Laden and the
al-Qaeda network. Washington blames bin Laden for
the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities. Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Sunday that
treatment of the prisoners was proper and
"consistent with the Geneva Convention for the
most part."
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. The US is the only country in the world - other
than the collapsed state of Somalia - that has
not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the
Child. The US is also one of only a handful of
countries that have not ratified the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women. Nor has the US ratified the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights or the American Convention on
Human Rights.
The United States was one of only seven
governments to vote against the Rome treaty to
establish an International Criminal Court (ICC) -
along with China, Iraq, Libya, Israel, Qatar, and
Yemen - against 120 supporters.