GENDER & HUMAN RIGHTS:

Lecture 2

What are Human Rights?

HUMAN RIGHTS are the rights that all people have by virtue of being human beings.

HUMAN RIGHTS are the rights that all people have by virtue of being human beings.

HUMAN RIGHTS are derived from the inherent dignity of the human person and are defined internationally, nationally and locally by various law making bodies.

Where do rights come from?

Human rights are based on the values of • Dignity• Justice • Respect• Equality

*Source: “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” by UNO and UNESCO. www.uno.org.uk – www.unesco.org.uk

Classification of Human RightsHuman rights can be classified and organized in a number of different ways, at an international level the most common categorization of human rights has been to split them into civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights.Civil and political rights are enshrined in articles 3 to 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Economic, social and cultural rights are enshrined in articles 22 to 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). (1966)

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:(Core Provisions)

1. Rights to physical integrity( Right to life, Torture, and Slavery)• Reduce infant mortality• Increase life expectancy• Prohibit the death penalty• Prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading

punishment

• Prohibition on medical and scientific experimentation without consent

• Prohibits slavery and enforced servitude in all situations• Prohibits forced labour, with exceptions for criminal

punishment, military service

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (cont.):

2. Liberty and security of person• Prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention• Impose procedural safeguards around arrest• Anyone deprived of liberty to be treated with dignity and humanity• Prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment• Imposes specific obligations around criminal justice

• Prohibits the use of imprisonment as a punishment

3. Procedural fairness and rights of the accused

(Rights of the accused and Right to a fair trial)• Protects a right to justice and a fair trial• Requires states to recognize everyone as a person before the law

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (cont.):4. Individual liberties( Freedom of movement, Freedom of religion, Freedom

of thought, Freedom of speech, Freedom of assembly, and Freedom of association)

• The right of persons to choose their residence and to leave a country

• Protects private adult consensual sexual activity• Protects people against unlawful attacks to their

honor and reputation• Freedom of religion• Freedom of expression• Freedom of association(the right to trade unions)• The right of marriage 5. Political rights

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights(Core Provisions)

1. Right to life(abortion, capital punishment, self defense and war)2. Freedom from torture(torture, ill-treatment and immoral)3. Freedom from slavery(slave trade and Human trafficking)4. Right to a fair trial(the right to be heard by a competent, the right to a public hearing the right to

be heard within a reasonable time the right to council, the right to interpretation)

5. Freedom of speech6. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion7. Right of social security and insurance8. Right of safe and healthy environment

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (cont.):

9. Right to adequate food, clothing and housing and to the continuous improvement of living conditions

10. Right to education11. Right to heath care12. Economic rights are subject to each

county’s ability to provide such rights progressively as its resources permit

Karel Vasak, a Czech Jurist classified Human Rights into three categories in 1979 as:1. Human Rights of First Generation: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights2. Human Rights of Second Generation: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights3. Human Rights of Third Generation: Collective Rights

These are also called Three Generations of Human Rights.

Classification of HR

Also called Blue RightsLiberation & Participation in Political LifeFundamentally Civil & Political natureWhen Ist Generation is limited, this directly limits IInd Generation.Rights include: Freedom of Speech, Right to a fair trial, Freedom of religion and Voting rights.

First Generation of Human Rights (Blue Rights)

Red RightsEconomic, Social and Cultural in natureRight to Employment, Housing and Health Care, Social Security & Unemployment benefitsUS President Roosevelt - Second Bill of RightsIn South Africa, it is not Right to housing per se but Right to adequate housing

Second Generation of Human Rights(Red Rights)

Third Generation of Human Rights

Largely unofficial rightsDifficult to implementGroup and collective rightsRight to self-determinationRight to economic and social developmentRight to a healthy environmentRight to natural resourcesRight to communicate and communication rightsRight to participation in cultural heritageRights to intergenerational equity and sustainability

Modern Protection of International Human Rights

In addition to the International Bill of Human Rights, the United Nations has drafted and declared over 80 human rights instruments:

genocideracial discriminationdiscrimination against womenRefugee protectiontorturethe rights of disabled personsthe rights of the child

UN Human Rights Bodies

Security CouncilGeneral AssemblyEconomic and Social CouncilCommission on Human RightsSubcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human RightsCommission on the Status of Women

UN Human Rights Bodies

Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal JusticeInternational Court of JusticeInternational Criminal CourtOffice of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (created by the General Assembly in 1993)

UN Human Rights Bodies

Treaty Monitoring BodiesHuman Rights CommitteeCommittee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial DiscriminationCommittee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against WomenCommittee Against TortureCommittee on the Rights of the ChildCommittee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights

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Where Do Human Rights Begin?“In small places, close to home, so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person, the neighborhood he lives in, the factory, farm, or office where he worked. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.”

Eleanor Roosevelt, 1958

Thanks