Download - Gender & hr lecture 1
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
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