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What are human rights?
Human rights are inherent in every human being. The term ‘human rights’ refers to those rights that have been recognised by the global community in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations (UN) Member States in 1948, and in subsequent international legal instruments binding on states. The Universal Declaration is a landmark document. It recognises that a world in which all human beings enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of belief, freedom from want and freedom from fear is the highest aspiration of all humankind.
The consensus on human rights reflects a global moral conscience and has its roots in philosophies, religions and cultures throughout the world. It therefore represents a worldwide agreement on the standards and steps necessary to achieve a more equitable world in which everyone might live and develop in accordance with their rights and dignity.
Throughout history, human rights have been claimed in the face of oppression and abuse of political power. The early focus was on protecting human liberty and freedoms. But by the time the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set to work, other claims were being made, widening the discourse from civil and political rights to include economic, social and cultural rights. The global community recognised that it is equally essential to ensure that economic or social power does not dispossess the less powerful of their ability to meet their basic needs. In addition, international human rights law obliges states to take positive steps to ensure the realisation of human rights, with a particular obligation to assist the most disadvantaged or vulnerable sectors of society.
Although legal instruments at the international and national levels have recognised and confirmed human rights, the law is not the source of these rights. Human rights are not granted by any human authority or government, but are derived from the essential dignity and nature of humankind.
There are differing views about the original source of human rights. Some philosophers believe that they derive from human conscience and reason, reflected in the constant striving of the human race for justice and freedom. Moral and religious thinkers have stressed the inherent dignity and equality of all humans, whether they regard this as stemming from the dignity of all creation, or from the creation of humans in the image of God.
Thus every child, woman and man is entitled to enjoy his or her human rights simply by virtue of being human. It is this universality of human rights that distinguishes them from other types of rights – such as citizenship rights or contractual rights.
Human rights are premised on the recognition of the equal worth and dignity of every human being regardless of any distinguishing characteristic such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. This gives rise to the twin fundamental principles of equality and non-discrimination.
The list of internationally recognised human rights covers all those rights essential for human survival, physical security and development in dignity.
Some fundamental human rights
Human rights necessary for survival and dignified living include:
- The rights to life and liberty
- The right to a standard of living adequate for health and wellbeing of the individual and his/her family, including food, water and housing, and the right to continuous improvements of living conditions
- The right to social protection in times of need
- The right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- The right to work and to just and favourable conditions of work
- The rights to privacy and to family life
Human rights also cover those rights and freedoms necessary for human dignity, creativity and intellectual and spiritual development, namely:
- The right to education and to access to information
- Freedoms of religion, opinion, speech, and expression
- Freedom of association
- The right to participate in the political process
- The right to participate in cultural life
Human rights necessary for liberty and physical security include:
- Freedom from slavery or servitude
- The right to security of person (physical integrity)
- The right to be free from arbitrary arrest or imprisonment, and to a fair trial
- Freedom from torture and from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Source: Häusermann, J, Rights and Humanity, A Human Rights Approach to Development, Discussion Paper commissioned by DFID in preparation of the UK Government’s White Paper on International Development 1997.
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The right to water has been explicitly recognised in several international human rights treaties and is protected in times of conflict under the Geneva Conventions. It is also regarded as being essential to the realisation of many other human rights, including the right to life, the right to food, the right to a standard of living adequate for health and wellbeing and the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. [See Legislation for texts of relevant treaties.]
There is no hierarchy of rights and all rights should be regarded as being of equal priority. Denial of one right invariably impedes enjoyment of others, leading to the recognition by UN Member States that human rights are indivisible, interdependent and inter-related (source: Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, 1993).
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