Human right unit 1
Unit 1
1 What are Human Rights?
Every person has dignity and value. One of the ways that we recognise the fundamental worth of
every person is by acknowledging and respecting their human [Link] rights are a set of
principles concerned with equality and fairness. They recognise our freedom to make choices about
our lives and to develop our potential as human beings. They are about living a life free from fear,
harassment or [Link] rights can broadly be defined as a number of basic rights that
people from around the world have agreed are essential. These include the right to life, the right to a
fair trial, freedom from torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment, freedom of speech, freedom
of religion, and the rights to health, education and an adequate standard of [Link] human
rights are the same for all people everywhere – men and women, young and old, rich and poor,
regardless of our background, where we live, what we think or what we believe. This is what makes
human rights ‘universal’Human rights connect us to each other through a shared set of rights and
responsibilities.
A person’s ability to enjoy their human rights depends on other people respecting those rights. This
means that human rights involve responsibility and duties towards other people and the community.
Individuals have a responsibility to ensure that they exercise their rights with consideration for the
rights of others. For example, when someone uses their right to freedom of speech, they should do
so without interfering with someone else’s right to privacy. Governments have a particular
responsibility to ensure that people are able to enjoy their rights. They are required to establish and
maintain laws and services that enable people to enjoy a life in which their rights are respected and
protected. The State maintains the framework of social order by implementation of various laws
without which well ordered social life would not be possible. Various philosophers of social contract
theory are of the view that object of the creation of state is to maintain and protect the rights of
individuals. According to Aristotle, State came into existence out of base necessities of life and
continues for the sake of good life.1 Prof. Laski expressed that State is known by the rights it
maintains. Similarly Locke was of the view that end of state is to remove the obstacles that hinder
the development of an individual.3Thus, the existence of the state is recognized with the protection
of rights and liberties of individual which is the main object of state. Protection of the dignity of an
individual is essential for harmony in the society, as its violation can have grave impact on individual
in particular and on society in general. Each individual is entitled to some rights which are inherent to
human existence. Such rights should not be violated on the grounds of gender, race, caste, ethnicity,
religion etc. these are called human rights. Human rights are also known as basic rights, fundamental
rights, natural rights or inherent rights. The concept of human right is not a new phenomenon,
‘Human Rights’ is a twentieth century term but its notion is as old as humanity. It has gone through
various stages of development and has taken long time to become the concept of present day. These
rights had place in all ancient societies though referred by different names4, it includes civil rights,
liberties and social cultural and economic rights. These rights are essential for all individual as these
are consonant with the freedom and dignity and ultimately contribute to social welfare.5 Protection
of human rights is a necessity for the development and growth of an individual personality, which
ultimately contributes in the development of the nation as a whole. It is an internationally recognized
issue and various international instruments have been established for the protection of human
rights. The ultimate purpose of the national as well as international law is to safeguards the human
rights of the people. At international level various efforts have been made for the protection of
human rights. The United Nations through its charter represents a significant advancement in the
direction for the promotion as well as protection of human rights. International bill on human rights
has been incorporated in the UN Charter. The UN Charter contains various provisions for the
promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Preamble and in various Articles 1,
13(b), 55, 56, 62 (2), 68 and 76(c).6 Apart from UN Charter there are four international instruments
created under the auspices of the United Nations known as International Bill of Human Rights, which
include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights 1966, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights 1966,
the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966.7 The
international human rights regime is continuously growing with the passage of time, it provides
certain accepted legal standards which all the nations should accept and implement in their domestic
laws. The Governments of all the nations must work to promote the welfare of people by eliminating
all forms of discriminations and provide right to equality and justice to all.
What do human rights cover?
Human rights cover virtually every area of human [Link] include civil and political rights, which
refer to a person’s rights to take part in the civil and political life of their community without
discrimination or oppression. These include rights and freedoms such as the right to vote, the right
to privacy, freedom of speech and freedom from torture.
Civil and political rights
The rights that protect the life and personal liberty of a person are called civil rights. They are
necessary to maintain the dignity of a person. These include rights like the right to life, liberty and
security of a person, the right to privacy, the right to own property, freedom of thought, religion and
movement. Political rights are such rights that allow a person to participate in governmental
activities. These include rights like the right to vote and the right to be elected. The nature of such
rights is different, but they are interrelated to each other. Both these rights are covered in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. These rights are also called first-generation rights
and are derived from 17th and 18th-century theories related to the American, English, and French
Revolutions. These form a part of negative rights because the government abstains from doing such
activities or forming policies that violate these rightsThey also include economic, social and cultural
rights, which relate to a person’s rights to prosper and grow and to take part in social and cultural
activities. This group includes rights such as the right to health, the right to education and the right
to work.
Economic rights, cultural Rights and social rights
These rights are also called freedoms and guarantee a person the minimum necessities of life. These
are also included in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. These form a
part of positive rights as the state is required to frame policies and provisions to implement such
rights. These rights are based on the concept of social equality and are second-generation rights.
These rights include the right to work, social security, physical and mental health, and education.
Origin and development
The Magna Carta (1215)
Also called as Great Charter, this charter of 1215 enabled in the entire English-speaking nation the
foundation of Constitutional [Link] John, the ruler of England during 1215 was nefarious king and
violated various ancient laws and customs which were the driving force by which England was being
governed at that time, his subjects forced him to sign the charter which later on coin the envelop of
human rights. Following were the rights
1. Church to be free from governmental interference.
2. Rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property and to be protected from excessive taxes
3. Women who owed property possessing right not to marry
4. Equality before the law.
5. Forbidding bribery.
6. Official misconduct.
The charter of 1215 is considered as one of the vital legal documents for architecting the modern
version of democracy.
Petition of Right (1628)
After the charter of 1215 the next landmark development which paved the way for human rights is
the Petition of rights this was presented in 1628 by the English Parliament and was sent to King
Charles I on the premise of Civil Liberties, this bill negates to fund the king unsatisfied foreign policy
since this and to quarter troops in subjects’ houses as an economy measure .English parliament
witnessed arbitrary arrest of the parliamentarians those who laid their opinion against the policies of
king and this brought violent upheaval and enmity to Charles and to George Villiers, the Duke of
Buckingham. Sir Edward Coke who presented the petition rights asserted four principles of the
charter
1. Parliament approval is necessary for levying tax
2. No individual shall be imprisoned without the just cause (reaffirming of the right of habeas corpus)
3. No soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry
4. No imposing of martial law during the time of peace.
United States Declaration of Independence (1776)
US congress approved the declaration of independence on July 4, 1776
More than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Thomas Jefferson wrote the
declaration as a formal explanation of why congress had voted on 2nd July to declare independence
from Great Britain and moreover announced that the thirteen American Colonies were no longer a
part of the British Empire. Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in various forms. In the
Initial phase it was published as a printed broadsheet which was widely distributed and read to the
public.
The declaration stressed upon two paradigms
1. Individual rights
2. The right of revolution (since Independence was gained through revolution
These ideas not only influenced the America but also outside of America and the outcome of these
ideas got reflection in less than two decades with the French revolution taking place in 1789.
The Constitution of the United States of America (1787) and Bill of Rights (1791)
After getting independence from mighty empire and witnessing number of sacrifices in revolution
now US, arrived at the most important aspect that of construction of Constitution for their nation,
since US was the first nation in the world to introduce the concept of constitution so a great care was
taken to make this constitution versatile and vibrant. In 1787 in Philadelphia the constitution of
United States got [Link] Constitution of United States of America being fundamental law of
the US federal system of government and emerged as the landmark document in the western world,
the constitution of US germinated motivation among many nations to revolution against the
tyrannical government and let the constitution be the guiding force the nation not any king or
[Link] constitution of US is the oldest written constitution in use and defines the principal organs
of government and their jurisdictions and the basic rights of citizens.
Revolution in Human rights– The Bill of rights of 1791 brought a magnificent change in the subject of
Human Rights; the first 10 amendments came into effect on 10, December 1791 which limited the
power of federal government of United States and provided for the protection of the rights of all
citizens, residents and those who visit the American territory.
The Bills of Right contains the following provisions,
1. Protection of freedom of speech
1. Freedom to follow the religion one wanted
2. Individual have right to keep and bear the arms
3. Freedom of assembly
4. Freedom of petition
5. Prohibition of unusual search and seizure
The Bills of right also prohibit the federal government to make any laws with respect to religion and
further negates the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty and freedom and
property with due process of law
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)
Absolute Monarchy in France got abolished in 1789 and the surroundings for the establishment of
first French republic got set. After the storming of Bastille just in 6 weeks and three weeks after the
abolition of feudalism, the declaration of the Rights of Man and of the citizen was adopted by the
National Constituent Assembly as the initial step towards architecting the constitution for the
republic of France.
This declaration claim of guaranteeing all the citizens of France the rights of
1. Liberty
2. Property
3. Security
4. Resistance to oppression
The declaration argues that the need of law is derived from the facts that “…the exercise of the
natural rights of each man has only those borders which assure other members of the society the
enjoyment of these same rights.” Thus, the Declaration sees law as an “expression of the general will,
“intended to promote this equality of rights and to forbid “only actions harmful to the society.”
The declaration served as the death warrant to the old regime and the rebirth of new paradigm of
social and political order which was founded on the bed rocks of liberty, equality and fraternity. And
further this declaration served as the basis for many constitution makers in different nations to give
human rights the paramount authority.
Declaration of International rights of man 1929
After the 1st world war got over, mankind for the very first time witnessed a cataclysm of death and
world for the first time experienced so much post effects of war. The questions about the human
rights and fundamental freedom began to rise so in 1929, the Institute of International Law adopted
the declaration of International rights of [Link] declaration provided for Fundamental rights of
Citizens which was recognised and guaranteed by several constitutions especially those of French
and USA.
The UN Charter, 1945
After the First World War the league of nation was formed to promote the peace and tranquillity
around the world and to stop the further wars in the world but taking place of Second World War
reduced the credibility of league of [Link] the second war took place, the entire nation agreed
to establish an international organization to stop all the war and promote human rights around the
world and this organization was much better than the previous one and much more
[Link] charter of United Nations was approved by all the delegates of 51 states who
attended the United Nation conference at San [Link] charter contained provisions for the
protection and promotion of human rights. This charter is considered as a landmark charter because
it is the first official document in which there is the use of term Human Rights.
Human rights in present Scenario
A nation progress and its population thrive when it is able to bestow its population with human
rights and it’s the trend that the nation who do not follow the path often meet with a civil war,
internal rebellion, military coup etc., because freedom is the most loved element which humans
cannot give and when such freedom is taken by the governments then the only scenario which left is
the revolution.
USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY
For states that are not party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR), the imposition of the death penalty per se is not prohibited by
international law. The ICCPR itself however limits it to use only for the ‘most serious crimes’. These
are widely interpreted as intentional crimes with lethal or other extremely grave consequences.
States that retain the death penalty should apply the Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the
rights of those facing the death penalty. The Safeguards also list a number of due process guarantees
which must be respected in any case where the death penalty is sought. In 2007, the General
Assembly adopted a resolution calling upon all States that still maintain the death penalty to, inter
alia, establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty. As a United
Nations entity, UNODC advocates the abolition of the death penalty. In countries that retain the
death penalty and are not ready to consider full abolition:
• Insist on the application of Safeguards and identify measures the Government may be willing to
adopt, for example: annulling mandatory use of the death penalty so that the judiciary are able to
look into the specific circumstances of each case, prohibiting application of the death penalty to
children (under 18 years old). And reducing the list of crimes to which the death penalty may be
applied by limiting it to the most serious ones
• Inform the Government of the full human rights implications of use of the death penalty, in
particular that imposition of the death penalty is an impediment to international cooperation as
many countries are prevented from extraditing accused offenders when the death penalty may be
imposed
• In particular, explain the difficulty UNODC has in supporting law enforcement in the area of drug
control that may lead to imposition of the death penalty. Contact the country Office of thecUnited
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in order to coordinate approaches to the government
on the issue. Make use of the leverage of donors. The European Parliament, for example, has called
on EU Member States to ensure that development assistance does not support, directly or indirectly,
use of the death penalty for drug offences.
If, in spite of all of the above, a country actively continues to apply the death penalty for drug
offences, UNODC places itself in a very vulnerable position vis-à-vis its responsibility to respect
human rights if it maintains support to law enforcement units, prosecutors or courts within the
criminal justice system. Whether support technically amounts to aid or assistance to the human
rights violation will depend upon the nature of technical assistance provided and the exact role of
the counterpart in arrest, prosecutions and convictions that result in application of the death
penalty. Even training of border guards who are responsible for arrest of drug traffickers ultimately
sentenced to death may be considered sufficiently proximate to the violation to engage international
responsibility. At the very least, continued support in such circumstances can be perceived as
legitimizing government actions. If, following requests for guarantees and high-level political
intervention, executions for drug-related offences continue, UNODC may have no choice but to
employ a temporary freeze or withdrawal of support.
Human Rights in India
India is the biggest democracy in the world. Being a democratic country one of the main objectives is
the protection of the basic rights of the people. Government of India has given due consideration to
the recognition and protection of human rights. The Constitution of India recognizes these rights of
the people and shows deep concern towards them. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
contains civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Constitution guarantees most of the
human rights contained in Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Part III of the constitution contains
civil and political rights, whereas economic, social and cultural rights have been included in Part IV of
the Constitution.8 All the statutes have to be in concurrence of the provisions of the Constitution The
philosophy and objective of the Constitution of India is enshrined in the preamble which include the
protection of the dignity of an individual. For the fulfillment of this objective Part III of the
constitution guarantees fundamental rights to people which are essential for the development of an
individual personality, these rights include right to equality, the right to freedom, the right against
exploitation, the right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights and the right to
constitutional remedies. It is the duty of the central as well as state Governments to provide
adequate conditions to each individual to enjoy their human rights. The constitution through
Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in the Part IV of the Constitution, ascertains the duties
on the government to work for the welfare of the people and protection of human rights of the
people. These are guiding principles for the state to make policies regarding distributive justice, right
to work, right to education, social security, just and humane conditions of work, for promotion of
interest of weaker section, raise the standard of nutrition and standard of living and to improve
public health, protection and improvement of environment and ecology etc. so that each individual
can enjoy rights to the fullest.
