Question #1

a. Briefly explain why human rights became an international concern. (pg. 31)
-> The atrocities committed on masses of people during World War II have committed international
jurists that the protection of human rights should be an international concern.

b. Why are human rights characterized as inherent, fundamental, inalienable, imprescriptible,

indivisible, universal and interdependent? Give examples. (pgs. 4-6)

i. Inherent because they are not granted by any person or authority. (E.g. Right to dignity as human);
ii. Fundamental because w/o them the life and the dignity of man will be meaningless. (E.g. Right to
individual liberty);
iii. Inalienable because they cannot be rightfully taken away from a free individual. (E.g. Freedom from
torture);
iv. Imprescriptible because they cannot be lost even by long passage of time. (E.g. Freedom of
thought);
v. Indivisible because they are not capable of being divided. (E.g. Freedom of Expression of belief or
opinion);
vi. Universal because said right can be enforced w/o national border. (E.g. Right to life);
vii. Interdependent because the fulfillment or exercise of one cannot be had w/o the realization of the
other. (E.g. Right to work and existence as a person)

Question #2

a. What consist of International Bill of Human Rights? (pg. 36)

i. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR);
ii. International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
iii. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

b. Name and explain some of the theories advanced as the sources of human rights. (pgs. 21-30)

i. Religious or Theological Approach

-> This is the doctrine of a Supreme Being. Adam, the first man was created in the image of God,
this means that the divine sources gives human beings a high value of worth. The theological
approach means also the brotherhood of men and equality in the eyes of God.

ii. The Natural Law Theory

-> the conduct of men must always conform to the law of nature. Natural law embodies those
elementary principles of justice which were right reason, i.e., in accordance with nature,
unalterable and eternal.

iii. Historical Theory

-> advocates that the human rights are not deliberate creation or the effort of man but they
have already existed through the common consciousness of the people of what is right and just.
Question #3:

a. State and explain the constitutional policy of the Philippines on Human Rights (pgs. 38-39)
-> Art. II, Section 11 of the Philippine Constitution, which reads:

The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human
rights.

-> The Philippines, in their declaration of policy, put great importance and recognition on the
fundamental rights of human, that it created as a constitutional independent body the Commission on
Human Rights. Furthermore, it embedded upon its constitution the enumeration of Human Rights in the
part of the Bill of Rights. (paraphrased)

Question #4:

a. What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? (pg. 314)

-> Serves as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every
individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind.