Human Rights Principles 2005

Author: UNFPA
Publisher: UNFPA
Human rights are universal and inalienable; indivisible; interdependent and interrelated. They
are universal because everyone is born with and possesses the same rights, regardless of
where they live, their gender or race, or their religious, cultural or ethnic background.
Inalienable because peoples rights can never be taken away. Indivisible and interdependent
because all rights political, civil, social, cultural and economic are equal in importance and
none can be fully enjoyed without the others. They apply to all equally, and all have the right
to participate in decisions that affect their lives. They are upheld by the rule of law and
strengthened through legitimate claims for duty-bearers to be accountable to international
standards.

Universality and Inalienability: Human rights are universal and inalienable. All people
everywhere in the world are entitled to them. The universality of human rights is
encompassed in the words of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: All
human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
Indivisibility: Human rights are indivisible. Whether they relate to civil, cultural, economic,
political or social issues, human rights are inherent to the dignity of every human person.
Consequently, all human rights have equal status, and cannot be positioned in a hierarchical
order. Denial of one right invariably impedes enjoyment of other rights. Thus, the right of
everyone to an adequate standard of living cannot be compromised at the expense of other
rights, such as the right to health or the right to education.
Interdependence and Interrelatedness: Human rights
are interdependent and interrelated. Each one contributes to the realization of a persons
human dignity through the satisfaction of his or her developmental, physical, psychological
and spiritual needs. The fulfilment of one right often depends, wholly or in part, upon the
fulfilment of others. For instance, fulfilment of the right to health may depend, in certain
circumstances, on fulfilment of the right to development, to education or to information.
Equality and Non-discrimination: All individuals are equal as human beings and by virtue
of the inherent dignity of each human person. No one, therefore, should suffer discrimination
on the basis of race, colour, ethnicity, gender, age, language, sexual orientation, religion,
political or other opinion, national, social or geographical origin, disability, property, birth or
other status as established by human rights standards.
Participation and Inclusion: All people have the right to participate in and access
information relating to the decision-making processes that affect their lives and well-being.
 Rights-based approaches require a high degree of participation by communities, civil society,
minorities, women, young people, indigenous peoples and other identified groups.
Accountability and Rule of Law: States and other duty-bearers are answerable for the
observance of human rights. In this regard, they have to comply with the legal norms and
standards enshrined in international human rights instruments. Where they fail to do so,
aggrieved rights-holders are entitled to institute proceedings for appropriate redress before a
competent court or other adjudicator in accordance with the rules and procedures provided by
law. Individuals, the media, civil society and the international community play important roles
in holding governments accountable for their obligation to uphold human rights.
UNFPA supports the integration of human rights standards into all stages of its programming
framework, including:

Analyzing the immediate, underlying and structural causes of human rights

violations
Setting strategies and goals to address the main causes of human rights violations
and to empower the most vulnerable people as well as to reinforce the capacity of duty
bearers.
Supporting initiatives for the establishment or improvement of an enabling legal and
social framework on population and development, reproductive health and gender
equality
Following the recommendations of UN treaty bodies such as the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
Evaluating and monitoring programmes with participatory processes and using
human rights indicators
UNFPA also recognizes that a rights-based approach should be founded on an analysis of
gender and social exclusion to ensure that programmes reach marginal and vulnerable
segments of the population, especially poor women and young people.

**

United Nations

What are human rights?

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of
residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are
all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all
interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.

Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties,
customary international law , general principles and other sources of international law.
International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or
to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental
freedoms of individuals or groups.
Both Rights and Obligations
Human rights entail both rights and obligations. States assume obligations and duties under
international law to respect, to protect and to fulfil human rights. The obligation to respect
means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human
rights. The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against
human rights abuses. The obligation to fulfil means that States must take positive action to
facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights. At the individual level, while we are entitled
our human rights, we should also respect the human rights of others.

***

Issues:

Extra-judicial Killings
Child labor, bound labor and dowry
China PH ties

**
1. What are human rights?

Human rights, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, refers to norms that aim
to protect people from political, legal, and social abuses.

The United Nations (UN) defines human rights as universal and inalienable, interdependent
and indivisible, and equal and non-discriminatory.

Universal and inalienable:

Human rights belong to all and cannot be taken away unless specific situations call for
it. However, the deprivation of a person's right is subject to due process.

Interdependent and indivisible:

Whatever happens to even one right fulfillment or violation can directly affect the
others.

Equal and non-discriminatory:

Human rights protect all people regardless of race, nationality, gender, religion, and
political leaning, among others. They should be respected without prejudice.

Human rights can also be classified under individual, collective, civil, political, economic and
social, and cultural.

2. What laws or legal documents ensure the human rights of Filipino citizens?
The rights of Filipinos can be found in Article III of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Also called
the Bill of Rights, it includes 22 sections which declare a Filipino citizens rights and privileges
that the Constitution has to protect, no matter what.

Aside from various local laws, human rights in the Philippines are also guided by the UN's
International Bill of Human Rights a consolidation of 3 legal documents including
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), theInternational Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR).

As one of the signatories of these legal documents, the Philippines is obliged to recognize and
apply appropriate laws to ensure each rights fulfillment.

This is not always the case, however, as the Philippine Constitution lacks explicit laws to
further cement specific human rights in the local context.

For example, the Right to Adequate Food may be included in the UNDR but it is not explicitly
indicated in the Philippine Constitution. Thus the government cannot be held responsible if
this is not attained. (READ: Zero Hunger: Holding govt accountable)

3. Who oversees the fulfillment and protection of human rights in the Philippines?

Human rights are both rights and obligations, according to the UN. The state or the
government is obliged to respect, protect, and fulfill these rights.

Respect begets commitment from state that no law should be made to interfere or curtail the
fulfillment of the stated human rights. Protecting means that human rights violations should
be prevented and if they exist, immediate action should be made.

In the Philippines, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) primarily handles the
investigations of human rights violations. However, it has no power to resolve issues as stated
in the Supreme Court decision in 1991.

Established in 1986 during the administration of President Corazon Aquino, CHR is an

independent body which ensures the protection of human rights guaranteed by the Bill of
Rights.

Aside from investigations, it also provides assistance and legal measures for the protection of
human rights guided by Section 18 Article XIII of the Philippine Constitution.
4. Do criminals or those who break the law still enjoy human rights?

Criminals or those in conflict with the law are still protected by rights as indicated in many
legal documents such as the Philippines Criminal Code and UNsStandard Minimum Rules for
the Treatment of Prisoners.

Specific human rights, however, may be removed, provided they go through due process
beforehand.

In 2002, the CHR issued an advisory after the debate sparked by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo
Duterte's statement during a crime summit in Manila. He said extra-judicial or summary
killings remain "the most effective way to crush kidnapping and illicit drugs."

However, according to the CHR, summary or extra-judicial executions of criminals or suspects

are prohibited under the Philippine Constitution as these violate several sections such as
Article III Section 1, which states that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property
without due process of law nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws."

It added that summary executions as a violation of human rights are more explicit in Article II
of Section 11, which provides that the State values the dignity of every human person and
guarantees full respect for human rights."

Meanwhile, Section 19 of the Bill of Rights clearly states that any punishment against a
prisoner or detainee shall be dealt with by law and through due process. It also says that no
cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment may be inflicted even death.

5. How does the Philippines fare when it comes to human rights violations?

In a Rappler piece, Human Rights Watch (HRW)s Asian Division researcher Carlos H. Conde
wrote that President Benigno Aquino III had more rhetoric than concrete action despite his
explicit human rights commitments in 2010.

Human rights violations extrajudicial killings, torture, enforced disappearances, and human
trafficking, among others may have decreased in the past years but cases still exist and
remain unsolved, according to Human Rights Watch.

In its 2015 World Report, the international group lauded the efforts to resolve these violations.
These include the arrest of retired army general Jovito Palparan in relation to the
disappearance and torture of two University of the Philippines students in 2006, and the
peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, among
others.
The recent issue over the killings and displacement of Lumads, however, has put the
governments way of handling human rights issues under the spotlight. (READ: A rare time a
human rights issue captivates PH social media)

Meanwhile, nearly 75,000 people filed for recognition as victims of human rights violations
during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos in 2014. Martial Law is regarded as
the dark years from 1972-1986 due to a huge record of abduction and torture, among others,
under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos." (READ: A Marcos brand of amnesia)
Rappler.com