GENDER & HUMAN RIGHTS:

Lecture 2
 What are Human Rights?
HUMAN RIGHTS are the rights that all
people have by virtue of being human
beings.

HUMAN RIGHTS are derived from the

inherent dignity of the human person and
are defined internationally, nationally and
locally by various law making bodies.
Where do rights come from?
Human rights are based on the values of
• Dignity
• Justice
• Respect
• Equality

*Source: “Universal Declaration of Human

Rights” by UNO and UNESCO.
www.uno.org.uk – www.unesco.org.uk
Classification of Human Rights
Human rights can be classified and organized in a number
of different ways, at an international level the most
common categorization of human rights has been to split
them into civil and political rights and economic, social and
cultural rights.
Civil and political rights are enshrined in articles 3 to 21 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in
the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR). Economic, social and cultural rights are
enshrined in articles 22 to 28 of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR) and in the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR). (1966)
 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
(Core Provisions)

1. Rights to physical integrity

( Right to life, Torture, and Slavery)
• Reduce infant mortality
• Increase life expectancy
• Prohibit the death penalty
• Prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment
• Prohibition on medical and scientific experimentation without
consent
• Prohibits slavery and enforced servitude in all situations
• Prohibits forced labour, with exceptions for criminal punishment,
military service
 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(cont.):
2. Liberty and security of person
• Prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention
• Impose procedural safeguards around arrest
• Anyone deprived of liberty to be treated with dignity and humanity
• Prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
• Imposes specific obligations around criminal justice
• Prohibits the use of imprisonment as a punishment
3. Procedural fairness and rights of the accused
(Rights of the accused and Right to a fair trial)
• Protects a right to justice and a fair trial
• Requires states to recognize everyone as a person before the law
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (cont.):
4. Individual liberties
( Freedom of movement, Freedom of religion, Freedom of
thought, Freedom of speech, Freedom of assembly,
and Freedom of association)
• The right of persons to choose their residence and to
leave a country
• Protects private adult consensual sexual activity
• Protects people against unlawful attacks to their honor
and reputation
• Freedom of religion
• Freedom of expression
• Freedom of association(the right to trade unions)
• The right of marriage
5. Political rights
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(Core Provisions)
1. Right to life
(abortion, capital punishment, self defense and war)
2. Freedom from torture
(torture, ill-treatment and immoral)
3. Freedom from slavery
(slave trade and Human trafficking)
4. Right to a fair trial
(the right to be heard by a competent, the right to a public hearing the right to be heard
within a reasonable time the right to council, the right to interpretation)
5. Freedom of speech
6. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
7. Right of social security and insurance
8. Right of safe and healthy environment
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (cont.):
9. Right to adequate food, clothing and housing
and to the continuous improvement of living
conditions
10. Right to education
11. Right to heath care
12. Economic rights are subject to each
county’s ability to provide such rights
progressively as its resources permit
 Classification of HR
Karel Vasak, a Czech Jurist classified Human Rights into
three categories in 1979 as:
1. Human Rights of First Generation: International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
2. Human Rights of Second Generation: International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
3. Human Rights of Third Generation: Collective Rights

These are also called Three Generations of

Human Rights.
 First Generation of Human Rights
(Blue Rights)
Also called Blue Rights
Liberation & Participation in Political Life
Fundamentally Civil & Political nature
When Ist Generation is limited, this directly limits IInd
Generation.
Rights include: Freedom of Speech, Right to a fair trial,
Freedom of religion and Voting rights.
Second Generation of Human Rights
(Red Rights)
Red Rights
Economic, Social and Cultural in nature
Right to Employment, Housing and Health Care,
Social Security & Unemployment benefits
US President Roosevelt - Second Bill of Rights
In South Africa, it is not Right to housing per se but
Right to adequate housing
Third Generation of Human Rights
Largely unofficial rights
Difficult to implement
Group and collective rights
Right to self-determination
Right to economic and social development
Right to a healthy environment
Right to natural resources
Right to communicate and communication rights
Right to participation in cultural heritage
Rights to intergenerational equity and sustainability
 Modern Protection of
International Human Rights
In addition to the International Bill of Human
Rights, the United Nations has drafted and
declared over 80 human rights instruments:
genocide
racial discrimination
discrimination against women
Refugee protection
torture
the rights of disabled persons
the rights of the child
UN Human Rights Bodies
Security Council
General Assembly
Economic and Social Council
Commission on Human Rights
Subcommission on the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights
Commission on the Status of Women
UN Human Rights Bodies
Commission on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice
International Court of Justice
International Criminal Court
Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (created by the General
Assembly in 1993)
UN Human Rights Bodies
Treaty Monitoring Bodies
Human Rights Committee
Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
Against Women
Committee Against Torture
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Committee on Economic Social and Cultural
Rights
 Where Do Human Rights Begin?
“In small places, close to home, so close and so
small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the
world. Yet they are the world of the individual
person, the neighborhood he lives in, the factory,
farm, or office where he worked. Such are the
places where every man, woman, and child seeks
equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity
without discrimination. Unless these rights have
meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.”

Eleanor Roosevelt, 1958

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Thanks