Footnotes:

a. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

The basic international statement of the inalienable and inviolable rights of human beings. It is the first
comprehensive international human rights instrument.
Rights covered:
1. Civil and political rights
1
2. Economic, social and cultural rights
2

b. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

Rights Guaranteed:
1. Right of the people to self-determination
2. Right to an effective remedy
3. Equal rights of men and women in the enjoyment of civil and political rights/non-discrimination on the
basis of sex
4. Right to life
5. Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment
6. Freedom from slavery
7. Right to liberty and security of person
8. Right to be treated with humanity in cases of deprivation of liberty
9. Freedom from imprisonment for failure to fulfill a contractual obligation
10. Freedom of movement and the right to travel
11. Right to a fair, impartial and public trial
12. Freedom from ex-post facto laws
13. Right of recognition everywhere as a person before the law
14. Right to privacy
15. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
16. Freedom of expression
17. Freedom of peaceful assembly
18. Freedom of association
19. Right to marry and found a family
20. Right of a child to protection, a name and nationality
21. Right to participation, suffrage and access to public service
22. Right to equal protection before the law
23. Right of minorities to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their religion and to use their own
language
c. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
Under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against women (CEDAW):
1. Guarantee of economic, social and cultural rights
2. Equal rights with men as regards education
3. Equal rights with men as regards employment
4. Prohibition against dismissals due to marriage, pregnancy or maternity leave
5. Promotion of child-care facilities, special protection to pregnant women as regards type of work
6. Equal access with men as regards health services, right to services in connection with pregnancy, adequate
nutrition during pregnancy and lactation and confinement and the post natal period.
7. Right to enter marriage, to freely choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with free and full consent
8. Equal rights and responsibilities as parents, to freely decide number of children and access to information and
education to be able to exercise their rights.
Q: What are human rights?

The exercise of these rights and freedoms may be subject to certain limitation, which must be determined by law,
only for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights of others and of the meeting the just
requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. Rights may not be
exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the UN.
2
The UDHR and the ICCPR treat the right to freedom of movement and abode within the territory of a state, the
right to leave a country and the right to enter ones country as separate and distinct rights. The right to return to
ones country is not among the rights specifically guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, which treats only of liberty of
abode and the right to ones country, but it is our well-considered view that the right to return may be considered,
as a generally accepted principle of international law, and under our constitution, is part of the law of the land.
However, it is distinct and separate from the right to travel and enjoys a different protection under the ICCPR,
against being arbitrarily deprived thereof. (Marcos vs. Manglapus, G.R. No. 88211, Sept. 15, 1989)

A: Those liberties, immunities and benefits, which all human beings should be able to claim as a right of the
society in which they live Louis Henkin
Q: How are the international human rights divided?
A: The said rights are divided into 3 generations, namely:
1. First generation: civil and political rights
2. Second generation: economic, social and cultural rights
3. Third generation: Right to development, right to peace and right to environment
Q: How are human rights classified?
1. Individual rights
2. Collective rights (right to selfdetermination of people; the permanent sovereignty over natural resources)
Q: What are the three main instruments of human rights?
1. United Declaration of Human Rights
2. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
3. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Q: What are the rights guaranteed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights?
Right to:
1. Selfdetermination
2. Work and accompanying rights
3. Social Security and other Social rights
4. Adequate Standards of living
5. Physical and Mental Health
6. Education
7. Take part in cultural life
8. Enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and applications
Q: May parties derogate from their obligations?
A: GR: In times of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation and the existence of which is officially
proclaimed, parties may take measures to derogate from their obligations to the extent strictly required by the
exigencies of the situation.
XPN: There can be no derogation from the following:
1. Right to life
2. Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment
3. Freedom from slavery
4. Freedom from imprisonment for failure to fulfill a contractual obligation
5. Freedom from ex post fact laws
6. Right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law
7. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion 251