What are Human Rights?

Human Rights are rights that all human beings have by virtue of being born that cannot be taken away. They are grounded in human dignity - premised on the fundamental belief that the protection of human dignity and equality is a responsibility of society at all its levels. Human rights have been elaborated in recent times into internationally accepted legal standards to ensure their protection and realisation, and to provide some restraint on the exercise of power. This page will very briefly introduce human rights and for further elaboration on this important issue, we refer to other online sources that can tell you all you want to know.

The International Human Rights Venture

Under the international system, human rights are interests that people have in law. They are still special interests in law, however, as they have been made to protect people’s fundamental freedoms and essential needs. These fundamental freedoms and needs are connected to human dignity, for example, the right to access healthcare, to an adequate standard of living, to access food and means of livelihood, to be free from torture and discrimination, etc.

States have written minimum standards for human rights into law through agreements at the international and regional levels. These agreements are made within bodies such as the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union and the Organisation of American States. These standards are set out in: Covenants (which are legally binding to those who join (ratify) them) and Declarations (which are not strictly legally binding but forceful political commitments). Declarations may become binding law if they are accepted and used by States sufficiently to become International Customary Law.

For an overview of these standards, please visit the elaborate list of the UNHCHR  that includes the International Bill of Rights (consisting of the three key international agreements on human rights), and the international instruments according to subject (e.g. child rights, women’s rights).

This international human rights framework has been supplemented by conventions entered into on the regional level. For an overview per region, have a look at the website of the University of Minnesota.

States that consent to be party to these conventions are legally obliged to comply with their standards at the domestic level, providing the full protection guaranteed. States have different approaches in the way they incorporate international agreements into their domestic laws. Some States have a “monist” system, which means that any agreement that is made at the international level automatically applies in domestic law. Other States have a “dualist” system, where the international agreement only applies once it has been adopted specifically into domestic law through the legislature. States that have a dualist system are obliged to develop and approve law that will satisfy its human rights obligations.

Different Human Rights

There are many types of fundamental freedoms and needs that have been defined at the international level as human rights. These are:

• Civil and political rights protect fundamental freedoms. Examples are freedom of speech or expression, or freedom from torture. These rights are found in the ICCPR
• Economic, Social and Cultural (ESC) rights protect basic entitlements to livelihood. They refer to such rights as the right to an adequate standard of living, to education, the right to work, the right to equal pay for equal work etc. These are found in the ICESCR. ESC rights are key to development. In fact, they are critical aspects within the right to development. The right to development can be found in the Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986.
• Third generation rights are rights that belong to groups or collectivities. They are rights that people have and enjoy as a member of a group. Examples of these are the rights of indigenous people, these rights can be found in the Draft United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. The Banjul Charter also contains collective rights.

All are indivisible, interdependent and mutually reinforcing!

All rights are strongly interlinked and are of equal importance. It is evident that, in the long-term, one is not achievable in the absence of the other: they are indivisible, interdependent and mutually reinforcing. For example, a community cannot use its right to access housing, when they are not permitted to either speak out publicly that they have no housing or campaign for their right. They require political space that respects the right to freedom of speech and the right to freedom of association.

See The Centre for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for detailed information on the different ESC rights in the international system and mechanisms for their protection. See also our links page for other key resources and information in this field.

Implementing Human Rights

While the importance of human rights cannot be underestimated, their existence in international (or national) standards alone does not guarantee their realisation.

A State must enact laws and policies, and create institutions and mechanisms to ensure people’s claims can be adjudicated and resolved in accordance with their human rights and those of others. These are called entitlements. They provide actual legitimate access to specific resources and actual legitimate command over definite goods and services. It is on the basis of entitlements that individuals may claim what they require in terms of daily livelihoods. Human rights cannot only be used where entitlements already exist however: they are also powerful political tools for upstream/bottom-up human rights strategies.

The international human rights venture has gone beyond simply setting the standards. Many of the key conventions have established bodies to monitor State compliance with their human rights obligations under the relevant convention.  Member States of the United Nations have also created a separate body, the Human Rights Council, to monitor in general the human rights practice of States. Many conventions also contain means for individuals to raise claims against their State when their rights are not being fulfilled or there are no mechanisms to claim their rights under their national system.

See the website of the International Service for Human Rights for detailed information on the UN and regional human rights bodies.

Want to learn more?

In order to truly understand human rights mechanisms, the way they work and how you can make use of them, we strongly recommend that you have a look at our online resources and choose, what you think, is best for your work and activities. It is even possible to follow a free online course that introduces you to human rights on a practical level at the Fahamu website.