John Cedric Comon, 1-A 1

Human Rights Law Reviewer

CHAPTER 1- The Nature of Human Rights

Human Rights the aggregate of PRIVILEGES, CLAIMS, BENEFITS,

ENTITLEMENTS and MORAL GUARANTEES (PCBEM) that pertain to man because of
his humanity.

Jose Zalaquett Human Rights are regarded as a SYSTEM OF VALUES or

ELEMENTS which are INHERENT to HUMAN DIGNITY

Jean Jacques Maritain the human person possesses rights because of the very fact
that it is a PERSON, a WHOLE, MASTER of ITSELF, and of its acts and which
consequently is not merely a reason to an end, but an end which must be treated as
such

Pope John XXIII- any human society, if it is to be well-ordered and productive, must lay
down as a foundation the principle that every human being is a person, that is, his nature
is endowed with intelligence and full will.

Jose Diokno- No cause is more worthy than the CAUSE of HUMAN RIGHTS; they
are what make man HUMAN.

II. KINDS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

As classified by Karel Vasak: Three Generations of Rights based on the French Revolutions
Life, Liberty and Property.
a. First Generation CIVIL and POLITICAL rights;
b. Second Generation ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, and CULTURAL rights;
c. Third Generation SOLIDARITY and COLLECTIVE rights.
FIRST GENERATION OF RIGHTS

Protection of the individuals from the arbitrary exercise of police power

Also known as the first generation of LIBERTY rights

Winluck Wahiu Civil and Political rights are rights against the state because they
prevent the state from the performance of things considered harmful.

Examples: Right to Life, Liberty and Property; Right against Torture; Right to Equal
Protection; Right against arbitrary arrest and detention.

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SECOND GENERATION OF RIGHTS

Recognized when the people realized that possession of the first generation of liberty
rights would be valueless without the enjoyment of economic, social, and cultural rights

Also known as the second generation of EQUALITY rights.

Examples: Right to Work, Right to Social Security, Right to form and join trade unions,
Right to rest and leisure, Right to Health, etc.

THIRD GENERATION OF RIGHTS

Intended to benefit individuals, groups, and peoples and can only be realized upon a
need of global cooperation based on international solidarity.

Also known as the third generation of SOLIDARITY rights.

Examples: Right to Peace, Right to Development, Rights of Women, Rights of Children,

Rights of Indigenous people.

III. PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN RIGHTS (UII)

Three (3) principles of Human Rights: Universality, Indivisibility, and Interdependence.
1. Universality

Rights belong to and are to be enjoyed by ALL human beings without distinction of any
kind such as race, color, sex, religion, or other stature.

Human rights belong to EVERYONE because they are beings endowed with dignity.

2. Indivisibility and Interdependence

Rights are inter-related and are CO-EQUAL in importance so than an individual can live
decently and in dignity.

Jose Diokno We cannot enjoy civil and political rights unless we enjoy economic,
cultural, and social rights. True, a hungry man does not have much freedom of choice.
But equally true, when a well fed man does not have freedom of choice, he cannot
protect himself against going hungry

IV. CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN RIGHTS (IIU)

Human rights are: Inherent, Inalienable and Universal

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1. Inherent

Rights are the birthright of all human beings, existing independently of the will of either
and individual human being or group and are carried when one is born and thus cannot
be separated or detached from him.

2. Inalienable

No person can deprive any person these human rights and cannot be the subject of the
commerce of man.

3. Universal

These rights belong to every human being, no matter what he or she is like.

V. STAGES OF HUMAN RIGHTS (IPR)

The three (3) stages of human rights are: Idealization, Positivization, and Realization
1. Idealization

Notions about human rights have started in the realm of ideas that reflect a
consciousness against oppression, dehumanization or inadequate performance of the
state.

2. Positivization

Support for the ideas became strong and the stage set to incorporate them into laws,
whether domestic or international.

3. Realization

Rights are enjoyed by the citizens of the State by the transformation of the social,
economic and political order.

VI. OBLIGATIONS OF STATE PARTIES

Three obligations of State parties to International Covenants: Obligation to RESPECT,
Obligation to ENSURE, and Obligation to PROTECT.
1. Obligation to Respect

Article 2(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

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Human Rights Law Reviewer

Commanding State Parties to refrain from restricting exercise of Civil and Political rights.

2. Obligation to Ensure

State Parties are obliged to be proactive to enable individuals to enjoy their rights.

3. Obligation to Protect

Preventing private individuals, groups or entities from interfering with the individuals civil
and political rights.

CHAPTER 2- Sources and Foundations of Human Rights Law

1. The 1987 Constitution

Basic source of Human Rights Law in the Philippines.

Known as the Human rights constitution because of its many human rights and human
rights-related provisions;

First generation of Rights ( Article 3- Bill of Rights), Second generation of Rights

(Article 13- Social Justice and Human Rights ), Third generation of Rights ( Article 2Declaration of Principles and State Policies).

Basis of laws passed by Congress such as : R.A 7438 ( Rights of Persons Arrested,
Detained or under Custodial Investigation), R.A 6657 ( CARL), Clean Air Act, etc.

7th Constitution drafted : 1897 Biak na Bato, 1899 Malolos Constitution, 1935
Constitution, 1943 Constitution, 1973 Constitution, 1986 Freedom Constitution and 1987
Constitution.

1.1 Commission on Human Rights (CHR)

Novel feature of the 1987 Constitution

Independent constitutional office and is considered as one of the first national human
rights commission in the world.

Two Important Functions: (a.) investigate human rights violations involving civil
and political rights either committed by the government or by non-governmental
entities,(b.) establish a program of education and information to enhance respect for
the primacy of human rights.

2. The International Bill of Rights

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Article II, Sec. 2 of the 1987 Constitution (Incoporation Clause): The Philippines
renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted
principles of international laws as part of the land

Composed of 3 documents: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

U Thant- The 3 documents are considered as the Magna Carta of Mankind and is the
essential prerequisite for peace at home and in the world.

UDHR was drafted by the CHR of the UN chaired by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.

Preamble to the Declaration calls for inter-cultural consensus and establishes the
concepts of inherent human dignity and inalienable nature of human rights.

UDHR is considered as the first internationally adopted catalogue of human rights and is
one of the best legal instruments on human rights ever adopted.

3. Philosophy

John Locke
a. Second Treatise of the Government
b. Argued that sovereignty resides in the people and that the government is duty-bound
to preserve the rights if life, liberty and property of its citizens;

Jean Jacques Rousseau

a. The Social Contract
b. Postulated a social contract by which the citizens surrender their rights to the general
will of the people which must aim at the impartial good.

Baron de Montesquieu
a. The Spirit of the Laws
b. He saw despotism as a standing danger for any government not despotic and
argued that if could be best prevented by a system of separation of powers.

4. Religion

Lessons and teachings on human dignity embed in the sacred scriptures and books of
the worlds religions.

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CHAPTER 3- Civil and Political Rights
1. Bill of Rights in the 1987 Constitution

Bill of Rights is a regular fixture in Philippine Constitutions except in the Biak na Bato
Constitution;

1935, 1973, 1986, and 1987 Constitutions Bill of Rights

1943 Constitution Duties and Rights of the Citizen; 1899 Malolos Constitution
The Filipinos and their National and Individual Rights.

Traces its (1987 BoR) beginning from Britains 1689 Declaration of Rights

1.1 Bill of Rights

Enumeration of civil and political rights that are self-executing, and serves as a
restriction upon the powers of the state, in order to preserve constitutional harmony and
stability has to honor and respect these rights while exercising its fundamental powers.

Fr. Joaquin Bernas What the bill of rights does is to declare some forbidden zones
in the private sphere inaccessible to any power holder.

1.2 Classification of Provisions

Completely New Provisions

Old Provisions with Amendments by addition

Old Provisions where word and phrases were amended by deletion

Old Provision which remained intact

2. Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International

Humanitarian Law

First substantive agreement signed by the Negotiating Panels of the Republic of the
Philippines and National Democratic Front on March 16, 1998 in Hague, Netherlands.

Consists of 7 parts: Preamble, Declaration of Principles, Bases and Applicability,

Respect for Human Rights, Respect for IHL, Joint Monitoring Committee, Final
Provisions.

3. Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Mother of all declarations

Articles 3 to 21 contains the catalogue of civil and political rights of the first generation.

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Examples: Right to Life, Right to Liberty, Right to Privacy, etc.

4. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Adopted unanimously by 106 states and is divided into 6 parts;

Parts I to III contains substantive rights; Parts IV to VI contains principles of

interpretation, etc.

First Optional Protocol (aimed at individual complaints); Second Optional Protocol

(abolition of death penalty).

CHAPTER 4- Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

1. Social Justice and Human Rights in the 1987 Constitution

Innovation in the 1987 Constitution (Art. XIII)

Contains a rich inventory of economic, social, and cultural rights (right to all workers to
self-organization, right to security of tenure, right to work, etc.)

Not defined in the 1987 Constitution

Teresa Nieva Social Justice is the centerpiece of the 1987 Constitution and rights,
dignity and participation remain illusory without social justice.

Jose P. Laurel define Social Justice as neither communism nor despotism, not
atomism nor anarchy, but the humanization laws and the equalization of social
and economic forces by the State so that justice in its rational and objectively
secular conception may atleast be approximated.. (Calalang v Williams).

2. Universal Declaration of Rights

Articles 22 to 27 enumerates the second generation of rights such as : Right to Social

Security, Right to Work, Right to Rest and Leisure, Right to Education, etc.

3. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Sister covenant of ICCPR

Affirmed by several international instruments such as the African Charter on Human and
Peoples Rights and the European Social Charter.

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Chapter 5- Solidarity and Collective Rights

1. Peace, Development and Environment
Right to Peace

Universally recognized that peoples of the earth have the sacred right to peace and that
the preservation of the right of peoples to peace and the promotion of its implementation
constitute a fundamental obligation of each state.

Pope John Paul II- Peace of the heart is the heart of Peace.

Proclaimed on the UN Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace, 1984

Right to Development

Development comprehensive economic, social, and cultural process aimed at the

constants improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals
through their meaningful participation.

Amartya Sen- Development is a process of expanding freedoms that people enjoy and
requires the removal of major sources of unfreedom like poverty, tyranny, poor economic
opportunities, etc.

Proclaimed in the UN Declaration on the Right to Development (1986)

Right to Environment

seen as an important right because of global warming, climate change, etc.

proclaimed in the Stockholm Declaration, 1972 and directly mentioned in the ICESCR

Environment- aggregate of surrounding things, influences and conditions.

Biodiversity- Variety of living organisms

Ecosystem- Community of living and non-living things interacting within a system

2. Women
Rights of Women

one of the worlds vulnerable; they have rights but are violated.

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Denial of basic rights such as: gender-based violence, low income than men,
discriminatory laws on marriage, inheritance, etc.

Denial of basic rights restrict their choices and increases vulnerability to violence

3. Children
Rights of Children

Considered as the worlds future but are denied of their rights.

Exploited, abused, maltreated, deprived of education, sold, and discriminated against.

Streetchildren, child workers, child brides, child combatants, etc.

Convention on the Rights of the Child first legally binding international instrument
on childrens rights.

Three Basic Rights- Right to Survival, Right to Develop to the Fullest, Right to
Protection from harmful influences.

Optional Protocols Against Armed Recruitment and Sale of Children

4. Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)

Rights of PWDs

Persons with Disabilities those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual
and sensory impairments, which in interaction with various barriers may hinder them full
and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others ( Art. 1, UNCRPD)

Magna Carta for Disabled Persons those suffering from restriction or different
abilities, as a result of a mental, physical or sensory impairment, to perform an activity in
the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.

50 million PWDs in the World ( UN)

PWDs suffer from discrimination

Some documents that pertain to PWDs: Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded
Persons, Right of Disabled Persons, etc.

5. Indigenous Peoples
Rights of Indigenous Peoples

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Human Rights Law Reviewer

Indigenous People- those that have historically belonged to a particular region or

country before its colonization or transformation into a nation, state, and may have
different ---often unique--- cultural, linguistic, traditional, and other characteristics to
those of the dominant culture of that region or state.

370 million IPs across the world, 100 million in the Philippines.

Generally live in geographically isolated areas with poor access to basic social services
and limited opportunities for mainstream economic activities.

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People recognizes that IPs have

suffered from historical injustices and acknowledges the urgent need to respect and
promote inherent rights of IPs which are derived from their political, economic, and social
structures. The declaration is the most comprehensive instrument detailing the rights of
IPs.

These rights are: Right to Self-Determination, Right to Lands and Territories, Right to
Health, Right to Education, etc.