CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Right to Liberty:
` The right to liberty can be traced back to the English Magna Charta (1215) and the United States Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789). Even though the Magna Charta only guaranteed rights to a limited group of people, namely feudal noblemen, it nevertheless required that arrest or detention be lawful, and protected the individual against the excesses of his/her ruler. Protection against arbitrary arrest and detention as one of the main dimensions of the right to the liberty of the person was further established in the 17th century Bill of Rights (1689) and Habeas Corpus Acts (1640, 1679). The right was further developed and its scope of application widened after the French Revolution, in the French Declaration of Rights (1789) where the right to liberty was guaranteed to all nationals in the constitutions of national states. The right to liberty played a major role in the Mexican revolution (1915) where land and liberty' (terra y Libertad) was the slogan of the revolution.
At the international level, the right to liberty and security of the person found its first legal formulation in Article 9 of the Universal Declaration. The article prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention of exile by means of a short and vague provision, but it has since been further elaborated upon by a number of international human rights instruments at the international and the regional level.
The right to liberty and security of the person, as the title suggests, entails two distinct rights: the right to liberty of the person and the right to personal security. In order to clarify how these two rights are understood under human rights law, a short description of each right follows The right to liberty of the person, as found in international human rights instruments, dó" grants complete freedom from arrest or detention. Deprivation of liberty is a legitimate form of state control over persons within its jurisdiction. Instead, the right to liberty acts as a substantive guarantee that arrest or detention will not be arbitrary or unlawful. In general, any deprivation of liberty is only allowed if it is carried out in accordance with a procedure established by domestic law and if the following minimum guarantees are respected: a) every detained person shall be informed promptly of the reasons for her/his arrest; b) every detained person shall be entitled to take habeas corpus proceedings before a court (which has to decide without delay and order release if the detention is unlawful); every detained person has an enforceable right to compensation if the detention was unlawful, and d) persons held in custody shall be brought promptly, that is within a few days, before a judge who must either release them or authorise pre-trial detention. They are entitled to trial within a reasonable time and to release in exchange for bail or some other guarantee to appear for trial. In other words, pre-trial detention shall not be the general rule and shall be as short as possible, depending on the complexity of the case.
The right to personal security has not been defined as clearly as the right to liberty and the meaning of this right differs in the different human rights Conventions. Under the ICCPR, which gives it the broadest meaning, the right to personal security is understood as the right to the protection of the law in the exercise of the right to liberty. This means that the right to security extends to situations other than the formal deprivation of liberty. For instance, a state may not ignore a known threat to the life of a person under its jurisdiction; it has an obligation to take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect that person.
Right to Life:
1. Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which the penalty is provided by law.
2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this Article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary.
·
in defence of any person from unlawful
violence
·
in order to effect a lawful arrest or to
prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained, and
·
in action lawfully taken for the purpose of
quelling a riot or insurrection.
Right to Dignity:
In classical Moral, ethical, legal, and political discussions the concept of dignity expresses the idea that a being has the right to be valued and respected, and to be treated ethically. In the modern context, dignity can function as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable rights. Human dignity can be violated in multiple ways. The main categories of violations are:
Humiliation:
Violations of human dignity in terms of humiliation refer to acts that humiliate or diminish the self-worth of a person or a group. Acts of humiliation are context-dependent but we normally have an intuitive understanding of where such a violation occurs. As Schachter noted, "it has been generally assumed that a violation of human dignity can be recognized even if the abstract term cannot be defined. I know it when I see it even if I cannot tell you what it is"". More generally, the etymology of the word "humiliation" has a universal characteristic in the sense that in all languages the word involves "downward spatial orientation" in which "something or someone is pushed down and forcefully held there". This approach is common in judicial decisions where judges refer to violations of human dignity as injuries to people's self-worth or their self-esteem.
Instrumentalization or objectification:
This aspect refers to treating a person as an instrument or as means to achieve some other goal. This approach builds on Immanuel Kant's moral imperative stipulating that we should treat people as ends. Or goals in themselves, namely as having ultimate moral worth which should not be instrumentalized.
Degradation:
Violations of human dignity as degradation refer to acts that degrade the value of human beings. These are acts that, even if done by consent, convey a message that diminishes the importance or value of all human beings. They consist of practices that human beings should not be subjected to, regardless of whether subjective humiliation is involved, such as selling oneself to slavery, or when a state authority deliberately puts prisoners in inhuman living conditions.
Dehumanization:
These are acts that strip a person or a group of their human characteristics. It may involve describing or treating them as animals or as a lower type of human being. This has occurred in genocides such as the Holocaust and in Rwanda where the minority were compared to insects.
Right against Exploitation:
The right against exploitation is one of the most important fundamental rights given by the constitution. These rights aim at protecting citizens from being subjugated to environmental, domestic and work hazards.
Articles 23 and 24 of
the Indian Constitution safeguard women and children and others against
exploitation of various forms
Article
23:Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour.
Article
24:Prohibition of employment of children in factories etc. No child below the
age of 14yrs shall be employed to work in any factor or in any other hazardous
employment.
Right to Education:
Everyone has the right to education. Education must be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory.
§ Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
§ Education shall be directed to the full development of human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedom.
§ Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. Indian constitution, Article 21(A), UDHR Article 261
Cultural Rights:
The international covenant on Economic, social, and cultural rights is consist of 31 articles which are divided into five parts. Part 1 deals with the rights of people to self-determination. Then there are some articles which are given below that deal with economic, and social, in part III.
1. Right to work. (Article 6).
2. Right to just and favourable conditions of work. (Article 7).
3. Right to form and join trade unions. (Article 8).
4. Right to social security. (Article 9).
5. Right related to motherhood and childhood, marriage and the
family. (Article 10).
6. Right to adequate food, clothing, housing and standard of
living and freedom from hunger. (Article 11).
7. Right to physical and mental health. (Article 12).
8. Right to education including a plan for implementing
compulsory primary education. (Article 13).
Economic Rights:
Economic rights refer to those rights that are related to the economic condition of a Human in the society. Economic needs are the right to work, the right to education etc.
Right to Work:-(Article 6(1).
1. Everyone has the right
to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work
and to protection against unemployment.
2 . The state parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate steps to safeguard this right.
[Indian constitution Article41, UDHR Article 23(1)]
Right to Adequate Wages:- (Article 7(a) (i)).
1. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. 2. Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without distinction of any kind, in particular women being guaranteed conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal pay for equal work. [Indian Constitution Article 39(d), UDHR Article 23(2)]
Right to Reasonable Hours of Work:- (Article 7 (b)).
1. In this right the employee has a safe and Healthy Working Condition.
2. The government may fix minimum hours of work. They are a) fix the number of hours of work to constitute the normality. B) provide work for 7 days a week. [Indian Constitution Article 42).
Right to Fair Working Conditions:- (Article 7 (d)).
1. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
2. Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays.
[Indian Constitution Article 42, UDHR Article 241.
The covenants on Civil and Political rights consist of 53 articles and are divided into six parts. Article 1 refers to the rights of people to self-determination. There are some articles dealing with this they are given. below. They are
1) The right to life. (Article 6)
2) Freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment. (Article 7).
3) Freedom from slavery, servitude and forced labour. (Article
8).
4) Right to Liberty and security. (Article 9).
5) Right of detenue to be treated with humanity. (Article 10).
6) Freedom from imprisonment for inability to fulfil a
contractual obligation. (Article 11)
7) Freedom of movement
and to choose his residence. (Article 12).
8) Freedom of aliens from
arbitrary expulsion. (Article 13).
9) Right to a fair trial.
(Article 14).
10) Non-retroactive application of criminal law. (Article 15).
11) Right to recognition as a person before the law. (Article
16).
12) Right to privacy, family, home or correspondence. (Article
17).
13) Freedom of thought, conscience and religion. (Article 18).
14) Freedom of opinion and expression. (Article 19).
15) Prohibition of propaganda of wars. (Article 20).
16) Right of peaceful assembly. (Article 21).
17) Freedom of association. (Article 22).
18) Right to marry and
found a family. (Article 23).
19) Rights of the child. (Article 24).
20) Right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, to vote
and to be elected. (Article 25).
21) Equality before the law. (Article 26).
22) Rights to minorities.
(Article 27).
Social Rights:
Social rights guaranteed by ordinary legislation include the benefits specified in the social security legislation implemented by Kela. The Constitution guarantees economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights, such as the right to work, education, indispensable subsistence and care, social security and adequate social, health and medical services, which the authorities are required to guarantee and promote. The protection offered by some other provisions on fundamental rights, such as equal treatment, equality, good administration and due process, extends also to ESC rights.
Out of the human rights treaties which have been implemented nationally and which are binding on Finland, the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the European Social Charter specifically guarantee ESC rights, such as the right to work, good health, housing and social security. In addition, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) also include provisions which are important with regard to social rights, such as provisions on discrimination and fair trial. Ensuring that social rights are fulfilled is primarily the responsibility of the Parliament. The Parliament shall issue the necessary legislation for the fulfilment of social rights.
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