Human Rights: Definitions and Classifications

Defining Rights

• A right constitutes a claim or entitlement, with a justified basis against another person.
• Legal rights are founded on legal rules, while moral rights are rooted in principles of enlightened conscience.
• Rights imply duties on others, though some philosophers dispute whether all rights necessitate corresponding duties.

Nature of Human Rights

• Human rights are inherent to human beings, inalienable, and inviolable
• Simply by being human, individuals are entitled to enjoy these rights.

Classification of Human Rights

• Human rights are classified into three generations.
  • First-generation rights encompass civil and political rights such as those in the ICCPR.
  • Second-generation rights include economic, social, and cultural rights.
  • Third-generation rights are collective, exemplified by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights including the rights to peace and a healthy environment.
• Civil and political rights are deemed first-generation due to being the initial rights claimed against states
  • This emerged from events such as the French Revolution and the American war of independence.
• Second generation rights were claimed subsequently and collective rights gained prominence around the 1960s during African independence movements. The "right to development" emerged in the 1980s.

Additional Rights Classifications

• Rights can also be categorized into civil and political rights
  • Civil rights are essential for mere existence and enable individuals to live in society, such as the rights to life, liberty, and privacy.
  • Political rights enable citizens to participate in state affairs, including the rights to vote and freedom of expression.
• Economic rights: Encompass the right to work and the right to property, though the right to property is absent in both the ICCPR and ICESCR.
• Social rights: Cover the right to education, health, social security, housing, food, and water.
• Cultural rights: Include the right to participate in cultural life.

Interdependence of Rights

• The Vienna conference on human rights emphasizes that rights are interdependent and indivisible
• Splitting the UDHR into ICCPR and ICESCR occurred due to Cold War disagreements.
  • The Western bloc prioritized civil and political rights.
  • The Eastern bloc insisted on economic, social, and cultural rights.
• The African Charter reflects the indivisibility of all rights.

Human Rights Law within International Law

• Human rights law is part of public international law, addressing international human rights protection.
• It establishes norms and institutions.
• The United Nations framework operates at a global level with charter-based and treaty-based mechanisms.
• Charter-based mechanisms draw norms from the UN Charter, with institutions like the General Assembly and Security Council.
• Treaty-based mechanisms involve organs, norms, and procedures from nine major human rights treaties.
• The European human rights system leads globally, while Asian and Arabian regions lag. The African system includes the African Commission and the African court

State Obligations and Rights

• Some scholars argue civil and political rights impose only negative obligations on states, requiring non-interference.
• Economic, social, and cultural rights are associated with positive obligations
  • These include conduct and tangible results.
• Both civil and political rights, along with economic, social, and cultural rights, involve positive and negative obligations.
• The classification is primarily for academic discussion not necessarily practical implications.

Universality and Interrelated Nature of Human Rights

• The Vienna conference of 1993 affirmed that human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated.
• The indivisible nature of human rights lacks consistency even within the UN level
  • The UDHR was later divided.
• Conventions like CEDAW and CRC integrate civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights affirming indivisibility.
• Despite arguments against implementing economic, social, and cultural rights as civil and political rights, an optional protocol will allow individuals to bring cases related to economic, social, and cultural rights forward

Generational Classifications and Obligations are Contested

• The classification of rights by generation does not reflect reality and it is seen to be a wrong interpretation.
• The distinction between positive and negative obligations are misunderstood.
• Economic, social, and cultural rights can impose negative obligations, while civil and political rights can impose positive obligations.
• Divisions between individual and group rights are flawed since group rights often encompass individual aspects

Interdependence of Human Rights

• The realization of one right facilitates the realization of others, and conversely, the violation of one right can lead to the violation of other rights.

Application of Human Rights:

• Vertical application: is when individuals claim their rights against the government.
• Horizontal application: is when individuals claim their rights against another individual, and is rare outside of some domestic constitutions.
• Treaties apply to states and international organizations, not multinational corporations

State Responsibilities

• When women’s rights are violated under the charter, the state has responsibility.
• Ghana had responsibility to take legislative and other measures like administrative, budgetary, and judicial, and other appropriate measures to implement the rights recognized in that particular document.
  • Ghana is held responsible if it does not prohibit domestic violence.
  • If domestic legislations are adopted, the administrative measures that are taken are important as well (police force example).

Understanding Distinctions

• Human rights are claims or moral rights expressed philosophically or abstractly.
• Human rights can be traced to Greek philosophies and religious teachings.
• The rights to equality: Traced from Saint Paul's teachings that all are equal before God, and Greek philosopher Marcus Ortius

Historical Documents

• Magna Carta is from Britain and the Golden Rule of Hungary: Are antecedents for modern constitution.
• These documents contained human rights provisions.

Middle Ages

• Philosophers separated rights from status.
• Slavery: A kind of status where individuals were regarded as corporeal chattel, had no right.

Enlightenment Period

• Philosophers that helped spearhead it: John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
• French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen: First to use the term Human Rights
• John Locke: Argued that every individual had the right to life, liberty, and property.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: His main contribution was the idea of social contract.
• Social contract: Agreement between people and government where part of people's rights are given to the government so that it could protect their individual rights.

American Ideas

• Thomas Jefferson: integrated philosophical ideas into American society.
• Declaration of American Independence: Stated that every individual had the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
• 1792 America: Human rights provisions were first integrated in the American constitution.

Domestic v International

• Human rights became well established at the domestic level.
• Human rights were developed first in domestic law at national level before coming to the international forum.
• Protection of human rights was regarded as within the preview of the states, and did not concern the international community.

Protection

• Alliance protection and diplomats protections were raised from the domestic to international level.
• Ethiopia concerns itself with the protection of Ethiopians living elsewhere, with embassies in many countries.

Relevance

• Exhaustion of domestic remedies were developed into laws for alliance protection and diplomats.
• Raised individuals protections from state to international level.
• Protection of alliance and diplomats is important for the development of human rights.

International Humanitarian Law

• Protection of victims of war
• Relevance: It raised the protection of individuals from domestic law to an international level.
• Geneva convention of 1864: Deals with the protection of individuals.
• Hague conventions of 1899 and 1907: Deals with international level regulations of the use of armaments and the conduct of hostilities.

Prohibition of slavery

• Abolition of slavery is traced to 1807 by Britain.
• Prohibition of slavery is one of the fundamentals included in human rights instruments that cannot be limited or derogated.
• Practice of state to abolish slavery first started in 1807

Protection Of Minorities

• Established as early as 1878 with lots of treaties on minorities concluded by League of Nations

United Nations

• Development can be traced to before the UN, and the adoption of universal declaration of human rights.
• World War 2 atrocities: Shocked the general conscious
• Resulted in adoption of the United Nations Charter

UN Charter

• Clearly stated under article 1, 55 and 56, it sought to promote and protect human rights.
• Commission was made in 1946 to translate obligations that were said in the charter into practicality.
• Began drafting universal declaration of human rights.
• December 10 1948: Celebrated as international human rights day.
• 2006 human rights commission: Bent and replaced by human rights council.

Treaties

• Nine human rights treaties- ICCPR, ICESCR, CRC,CAT, CEDAW, CERD. Convention on rights of persons with disabilities, convention on protections of rights of migrant workers and family and convention on prevention of enforced disappearance.
• Convention on Rights Of The Child: Has comparatively the status of universal ratification
• Convention on the prohibition and punishment of the crime against genocide of 1948: Is also regarded as a human rights convention.
• The convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination- Adopted because of African influence + human rights convention
• Regional Level conventions: There are many conventions that are adopted for promotion and protection of human rights.
• European convention for protection of human rights: Adopted in 1950 and before ICCPR and ICESCR
• America= First convention was adopted in 1969.
• Africa: 1981 african charter on human and peoples' rights: established the African commission on human and peoples; rights.

Human Rights

• Influenced by western culture.
• Seen as a response to modern society.

Branches Of International law

• International humanitarian law, refugee law and international criminal law are established with a aim to protect human rights.
• terms of history, IHL Came in to existence before human rights.

Advisory Opinion

• ICJ, in advisory opinion concerning the legality of use and trait of nuclear weapon, explained that human rights and international humanitarian law apply at the same time.
• Derogation of human rights is possible.
• IHL: Applies only when there are armed conflicts, it talks about the protection of individuals.
• Forth convention for protection of civilians: Talks about life and liberty in war situations.

War

• In the situation of war, derogation of human rights is allowed.
• Allowed under article 4 of ICCPR, article 15 of the European convention on human rights + article 27 of American convention on human rights.
• Cannot derogate right to life, prohibition of torture + slavery
• Derogating Rights: International humanitarian law will be applied.
• IHL: The special law of human rights.

Refugees

• Usually protects noncitizens who live in other states.
• Refugees: Those who flee country because of persecution of race, social origin, political thought
• Cannot be a refugee is they violate human rights- can lose rights
• Entitled to the rights of refugee enshrined in the refugee convention of 1951- civil + political rights and economic, social and cultural rights.
• Human rights are not given by being a citizen of a country but from beings human.

International Criminal Law

• Only recent, during the 1990's with establishment of international criminal tribunal for former Yugoslavia, and international criminal tribunal for Uganda
• Tribunals Punish those who commit gross violations
• UN Level- ICC
• IHL: Protects humans and rights

UN Level

• There are two mechanisms that help to promote human rights.
  • Charter Based/Non Conventional Mechanism.
  • Treaty Based/Conventional Mechanism.
• Charter Based emanates from charter of the UN itself.

UN Charter

• has different human rights provisions.
• Purpose to promote + protect human rights as laid down under article 1.
• Chapter under article 55 and 56- imposes obligation on states for promotion + protection

Major Organs Of The UN

• General assembly: Looks at from standard setting responsibilities + establishment of institutions.
• Adopts rules + laws to promote + protect human rights.
• Adopted UDHR- Split into ICCPR and ICESCR
• Cedaw + other major conventions- adopted by general assembly and made binding upon member states after ratification.
• Adopts soft laws- declaration- no binding effect on state parities. *will develop in to hard binding laws
• CRC-enjoyed universal ratification and then preceeded to declaration or rights of child.
• General assembly- role in setting standards + establishing rules
• Second rule is establishment of institutions.
• Established in 1946: Human Rights Commission- tasked to make UDHR
• 1993- high commissioner established following world conference of rights in vienna.
• Establish human rights council- 2006
• Commission then responsible to general assembly + Ecosoc.
• Rights commissioner under secretary general of UN.
• HR council is successor of the HR general assembly.

Security Council

• Responsible for maintainance of International Peace + Security.
• Only organ that can pass binding on member states as provided in charter.
• Impose action on member states that violates HR.
• authorize parties to state force + peace keeping force.
• Authorized to use force to protect HR
• Est. criminal tribunals- ICTR + ICTY
• ICTR--Tanzania Following genocide of Ruwanda in 1994

Secretary General

• Has role in promoting + protecting.
• Kofi Annan-- Well known for mainstreaming human rights.
• Has two special advisors- protection from violations such as torture + genocide and another for mass atrocities + discrimination. has these two special advisors. International Court of Justice

ICJ

• Major organs that serves as judicial organ
• Members of UN- ipso facto parties of the ICJ per article 93 or UN charter
• 15 judges that work in personal capacity.
• instrument establishing ICJ is statue and annex of un charter.
• States that Have standing before.
• Decisions rendered have an indirect effect on individuals.

ICJ

• Example: vienna convention on consular relations case: partaguay Vs. USA death penalty case on US.
• Brought before ICJ, by partaguay representing its nation and stayed the execution.
• US needed to establish measures for execution of death penalty.
• There is a dealing with human rights issues.
• Doesnt have compulsory jurisdiction, but the crime of genocide confers jurisdiction of the ICJ.
• Also refer to the application of ICCPR.

ICCPR

• Applies in all cases.
• DRC VS. Uganda, also with nuclear weapons, also palestinian walls in occupied territory.
• Applies at all times and even in war situations, except article which allows for derogation for rights.
• Article 15 + 27 allow for declaration of rights of US.

4 Article IC

• Allows states to suspend some human rights.
• State of emergency- wars, floods that allows for suspension.
• Cannot derogate right to life, no torture. no slavery, freedom of speech.
• ICJ: said state made determination to those in time of war had to reference the war.

IHL

• tries to regulate restrictions, states must have proportional reaction.
• Bosnia vs Serbia, all the state duty to protects their people.
• Sum: HR can have held decision that are relevent for the promotion of human rights.
• The HR council-est 2006

HR Council

• background- hr commission- est 1946/ year state representatives meet to make commission recommend experts over state.
• in 1967 number- raise to 32 and then 53
• 1 of HR mission is to make- UHDR, ICCPR / was reviving complaints
• UN charter is non intervention between states

HR Commission (cont)

• -no international org that recived Hr violation
• complaints developed out of practice.
• later 1970- passed solution 1503 + examination -of consist patterns
• 4 requirements of complaint- to be deemed gross + reliable adopted both 1235/ 1503 even tho ecosac authorized HR commission- did not resort to other.
• these sp procedures adoped by council *country mandate * thematic instances:

Thematic examples

• extra judicial sum/arbitrary etc/ special madeate + belief/ special mandate/ sale of child/ torture etc/ indep. economic policy/ minorities
• Appointment of mandate holders: criteria - expertise, independ, imparitary, integrity, objectity HR council relies for this expertise w/ back round

Manadate Holders

• should do not have any responsbility at the stated level/ ex- foreign minister regatding the appoinment, comittee high level
• consulted- candiates that want to be appointed

Major Protblem With HR Commission

• selective/ Cold war - countries /usa, to want condemnation/ and that insulate from being a viloater - lack of coorp in the council
• not expect body/ but poltical
• mechinism.state
• they did not have ally in HR commission/ because of aly had other means-

HR Commission (cont)

-ussr, scape the commission because they just escape critisim / process in commission abused/ andused to for poltical sumption -2006 - state represent used to HR comission -state- try to to protect names and putting on each other back/ politcal surption need to make HR commison. -HR getting more serious/ since 2001

###HR Council

• recomended est. hR committe- in 2006 was resolved -un some new reformed HR- way electin member
• HR commission: any state is get the majority but not for HR
• Hrc granted general assembly + to be elect.state +show HR records suspend membership: for gross violations and cant live without long

HR Council(cont)

• be voted for only 3 hrs andcant be re elected
• another one- hr council- has been productive -before/HR commision- weak once a year -- HR through out the year
• New- sp sessions / require 16 country reports
• new procedure- Unv report is UPR -procedure - major - HR commision -select countrys-nt review HR - hr records countires/ wether for volation -hr recrords/ or to get scrutinized by international unites nation commision vote + motvation is for HR voliation
• The Unv periodic revi- based by Lot/

UPR

• every member of the united nations has certain records even not a thearty- wants a vote for every country is called unveral for anotherthing - every state every thing basis/ UN chater or treatries ratified + HR law

UPR (cont)

• HR/ around 42 countries in year 4 and half too - states of unitied nations
• procedure -3 Rapportors for commison/question based what report is- UPRD 3 number -state repost- documents- reprared states doc- of Hr

2 documents compile

• one for from treaty+ the other from take holders/ every state worold are party to 1 or another - orgs repsent- 3 states-- question- / from member there is sp procedure with coor working groop/ state
• member in group minutes to add questions for state takes and hour half time under for the group/ adoptees. final for what is recommented- questions accept or reject / together + is adopted

HR Council (Subsidiary Organs)

• Called advisory committee- member HR political representatives their states/ like hose ethopia HR council / support constutional
• Hr handling procedures (complaints procedures from comissioners HR comittion / made recomidention for council/ handles what to be be consided to HR + HR

Advisory Commitee

• HR individual is - cannot go council or the comittees may go and be volated to - HR with HR- can go HR committee / econ soc/ 1 that the be consided to be the the treaty bady mechanins - HR toHR /know violation HR not be poltical motivate/ consist to HR.object

Procedure for HR Council

same to treaty or convention or mechinism claim should only on press -

• no to be for in under body / trearity or - Africa not take in part in th ethopia -- restot to both/ council .

• 2 groups- cmoniction or stuation/