Mid term

Human rights are freedom that belongs to every person in the world, from birth until death .Human
rights are those that belong to a person or group of people basically for being human, because they are
necessary for the development of a society that is just.

#Rights are entitlements to whatever you are entitled to. Dictionary of social work 1995 it is said that
“Rights are the obligations of society to each of its member”

#Moral rights are entitlement based on morality. These are the moral duties of a society towards it’s
members.

#Legal rights are entitlements which are recognized by the law. Bentham and Austin first developed
this concept.

#Basic needs are universal basic needs. Such as food, clothing, shelter, education etc.

#Fundamental rights are entitlements that are enforceable and recognized by the constitution such
are freedom of speech, freedom of movement etc .

#Human rights these are entitlement which ensure a dignified life for a human. Nelson Mandela
stated “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity”. And Mother Teresa
stated “Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government they are every human beings
entitlement by virtue of his humanity”. Every human is born with intelligence, creativity, emotions
which are verbal and non-verbal, consciousness, rationality of certain aspects which exceeds the level
of other animals of this earth they can’t be given by any state or authority these are gifted by God so
we naturally inherent them , So no one has the right to infringe them .

Features of human rights

#Universal: Human rights are universal in nature, which means they are granted to every individual
irrespective of his/her caste, greed, race, religion, nationality and place of birth .

#Inherent: They are inherent to each person and available from birth.

#Inalienable: These are inalienable rights many philosophers believe that they are natural rights given
by God and cannot be taken away or changed by anyone or cannot be transfer.

#Indivisible: These rights are indivisible and interdependent. If a government recognizes these rights
then it has to protect the rights of its citizen’s .example: civil rights, political rights, economic, social,
cultural rights they are all interdependent all are connected.

#Negative rights: Following the Anglo American legal tradition,negative rights specify the actions that a
government should not take . Mainly Civil and political rights such as Freedom from slavery, Freedom of
movement ,Freedom of voting . These rights can be enjoyed immediately. To establish negative attitude
government can’t intervene and for someone to enjoy this right he doesn’t have to show any resources
or budget. State shall not interfere.

#Positive rights: Positive rights mainly derives from the Rousseau in continental European legal tradition
and denote rights that the state is obliged to protect and provide .rights to education to legal equality,
to livelihood. Positive rights can’t be enjoyed immediately it can be enjoyed progressively.

The jurists have divided all these human rights as generations, such are

#first generation: civil and political rights. Its deals with liberty and participation in political life .they are
fundamentally civil and political life .they are fundamentally civil and political in nature and serve to
protect the individuals from excesses of the state. Freedom of speech , freedom of religion and voting
rights .

#second generation: The rights are fundamentally social, economic and cultural in nature. They ensure
different members of citizen in equal condition and treatment. Rights to be employed, rights to housing
and health care, social security and unemployment benefits.

#Third generation: Those rights that go beyond the mere civil and social group and collective rights the
rights to development, to peace, to health environment .this right are not individual oriented rights.

#Fourth generation: Right to peace. The rights which are mentioned in First, Second, Third can be
exercised if right to peace is available. One cannot exercise these rights without right to peace.

Uk :1215 –“Magna carta ” important legal and political documents in the history of constitution
governance .Magna carta has been cited as a symbol of the rule of law ,individual rights and the idea
that no one including a monarch is above the law .king was forced to agree to ,which included
protection for individual liberties ,property rights .
Final term
United Nations charter
The charter of the United Nations is the founding document of the
United Nations. It was signed on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, it came
in to force on 24 October 1945.

The united nations can take action on wide variety of issues due to its
unique international character and the powers vested in its Charter,
which is considered an international treaty .As such the UN charter is
an instrument of international law, and UN member state are bound by
it .The UN charter codifies the major principles of international
relations, from sovereign equality of states to the prohibition of the use
of force in international relations. The UN charter in 1945 affirmed faith
in the fundamental human rights and appointed a Commission on
Human Rights under Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. This declaration was the
outcome of the letter deliberations A.A. said aptly remarked “The
concept of Human Rights may be difficult to define but impossible to
ignore “.The UN charter obliges all members’ nations to promote
“universal respect for, and observance of human rights” and to take
“joint and separate action” to that end.

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

In 1946 UN commission on Human rights was constituted to form an
International Bill of rights , this was done with aim to enforce human
rights globally and give human rights global recognition. The drafting
committee consisted of eight countries and Eleanor Roosevelt headed
the committee. The International bill consisted of Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR), ICCPR and ICESCR. The universal declaration
came in to force on 10th December 1948 .It consists of 30 articles in
which , it covers civil, political ,social and economical rights .Some of
the rights mentioned under UDHR were also adopted as “Fundamental
rights” In the Bangladesh constitution ,which include rights like equality
before law ,prohibition of discrimination, right to life and
liberty ,freedom of movement ,etc. The UDHR is not a legally binding
instrument but it plays an important role shaping the global landmark
or roadmap to the Human rights .

The four pillars of UDHR out of 30 articles

1) Civil and Political Rights (3-21)

2) Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (22-27)

3) Right to a social and International order (28)

4) Duties of individual and limitation of Human rights (30)

Article 1 and 2: They refer human dignity equality and brother hood.

Article 3 to 11: They are the rights of the individual and include right to
life, outline of slavery, equality before law, the right to fair trail etc.

Article 12 to 17: They are rights of individuals with in civil and political
rights society .They include freedom of movement, the right to
nationality, right to marry and found a family.

Article 18 to 21:They are the spiritual and religious rights of

individuals ,such as freedom of thought and conscience ,rights to your
own opinion ,the rights to peaceful assembly and association ,and the
right to vote also take part in government .
Article 22 to 27: They are the social, economic and cultural rights to the
individual. They include the right to work, the right to rest and Leisure,
the right to decent standard of living and the right to education.

Article 28 to30: They reminds Us that right come with obligations ,and
that one of the right mentioned in the UDHR can be used to violate the
spirit of the united .

UDHR has helped to form other treaties like:

# (CERD) The International convention on the Elimination of Racial

Discrimination (1965) .

# (ICESCR) The International Convention on Economic, Social And

Cultural Right (1966) .

# (ICCPR) The International Convention on Civil and Political rights

(1966)

# (ICEDAW) The International Convention on the Elimination of All

forms of Discrimination against Women (1979).

# (CRC) Convention on Rights of Children (1989).

# (ICRMW) International convention on rights of Migrant workers and

their families (1990) .

Etc…
INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND
POLITICAL RIGHTS (ICCPR)
International covenant on civil and political rights came into force on
March 23 ,1976. Till 2019 it had 173 signatory countries .This covenant
consists of 53 articles and is divided into 6 parts. ICCPR protects rights
like the right to life, liberty, fair trial, freedom of speech and
expression ,etc .

Importance

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) was crea
ted to acknowledge the enjoyment of a signatory state's citizen's civil a
nd political rights, including the freedom of speech, the right to life, and
the right to assemble. The fact that UDHR is not legally enforceable,
and ICCPR on the other hand ,is legally binding .The signatory countries
that have ratified this covenant and now under the obligation to abide
by the Articles mentioned under ICCPR and any violation of these rights
are considered as punishable offence .

Distinguishing between civil and political rights

Ans: Civil rights are protection and privileges of personal power
giver to all citizens by law. They ensure persons freedom from
discrimination and guarantee equal access to social ,economical
and political opportunities ,freedom of speech ,Religion .civil
rights encompass a broad range of protection and political
rights.
Political rights on the other hand ,are the rights that allow
individual to participate in the political life of their
society .These include the right to vote ,the right to run for
public office and the right to participate in political debate and
decisions .

The optional protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and

Political rights (ICCPR) is significant for several reasons .
(A)Individual complaint mechanism: If the state is a party to the
ICCPPR protocols then the individual of that state can be part of
the Individual complaint mechanism by this they can submit
complaints about violations of the rights protected under the
ICCPR to the human rights committee. This gives individuals a
direct means to seek remedy at the international level if they
believe their rights have been violated and have exhausted all
domestic remedies.
(B)Accountability: By allowing individuals to bring complaints to
the human rights committee the optional protocol helps to hold
the state accountable for their obligations under the ICCPR.
States that have ratified the optional protocol are obliged to
respect the decisions and recommendations of the committee.
(C)International oversight: The human rights committee, an
independent body of experts, reviews complaints and issues
findings on whether the rights have been violated or not .this
provides an additional layer of oversight beyond national
jurisdictions and helps to ensure that international human
rights are standards are upheld.
(D) Legal precedent and guidance: The decisions and
interpretation of the human rights committee provide valuable
guidance for the interpretation of the ICCPR. These decisions
contribute to the development of International Human rights
laws explaining the obligations of the state under the covenant.