Human Rights and Democratic Governance-English

Human Rights and Democratic Governance
Discussion Materials compiled by NDI for the

District Multi stake holder forums on
Constitution and Peaceful Co-Existence
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Content
1. Introduction on Human Rights and Governance

2. Relationship between the Democracy and Human Rights
3. Economic Social and Cultural Rights
4. International Human Rights Standards an and the Obligations
and commitments of the Government
5. International Covenants on Human Rights-Un official
summary
6. Minority Rights
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District Multi-Stakeholders Forum on Constitution and Peaceful Coexistence
DIALOGUE ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
One of the biggest challenges facing in the modern democratic world is building
a country that is fair to all its citizens; a country in which all individuals feel and
know that they are valued members of society, and that they have rights that
 respect human dignity

 promote human development
 foster human equality and
 advance human freedom
 ensure human security
Democracy and human rights are inseparable, interdependent and mutually

reinforcing. Human rights standards must be seen to underpin any meaningful
conception of democracy, and democracy offers the best hope for the promotion
and protection of all human rights. The basis of democracy is its principles,
norms, standards and values, many of which are enumerated in international
human rights instruments. Democracy thus goes beyond formal processes and
institutions, and should be measured by the degree to which these principles,
norms, standards, and values are given effect and the extent to which they
advance the realization of human rights.
Human rights have become universal language since the World War II,
especially, since the United Nations was formed in 1945. The UN is founded on
the principles of peace, justice, freedom and human rights. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights furthermore recognizes human rights as
prerequisite for peace, justice and democracy/good governance. United Nations
Development Program (UNPD) in 1998 adopted its policy of “Integrating
Human Rights with Sustainable Human Development” focusing rights based
approach to development.
Human rights are inalienable entitlements that are agreed as necessary claims for
people, based on their human nature, needs and aspirations. Hence, human
rights constitute the ground-rule for human development and democratic
governance. As such, the ‘dignity and worth’ of the human person is to be
regarded as both a means and end of development with inclusive governance.
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Giving effect to democratic values and to the standards contained in the human
rights instruments necessitates the incorporation of human rights principles such
as universality and indivisibility; equality, equal opportunity and non-
discrimination; participation and inclusion; diversity and pluralism;
accountability and rule of law etc. Integrating these principles is indispensable to
ensure democratic governance in any plural society.
The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) have voted, signed and ratified most of the
international instruments. But, sufficient initiatives have not been taken to
provide constitutional guarantee and institutional safeguards to recognize and
promote these human rights with in the country in order to ensure that the
persons living in the country enjoy these rights as citizens of UN communities.
The state as the duty-bearer must fulfill its commitments and obligations to
promote and protect these human rights in accordance to the international
standards by creating constitutional, legal and institutional mechanisms.
Therefore, it is important to promote a constructive discourse between the claim-
holders (citizens) and duty-bearer (state) by promoting collaborative initiatives at
the policy and implementation levels to promote human rights. In this respect, it
is important to recognize the need for a continuous and informed dialogue to
create awareness and understanding on human rights among the claim holders
and to mobilize their informed support to realize human rights with its
international standards. Some positive developments have been achieved in the
past with the committed and untiring intervention of Civil Society organizations
and human rights advocates. At the policy level, creating a cabinet ministry for
human rights and commencing a process to promote a national action plan on
human rights and to draft a bill of rights are some of the positive features even
though the processes are rather slow and not yet transparent. The armed ethnic
conflict, national security situations and the resultant decline of democratic
governance influenced to weaken the human rights as well as to weaken the
functioning of national institutions created to promote and strengthen human
rights. With the military defeat of the LTTE, Sri Lanka is at the decisive cross
road in addressing the post war situations and to transform the decades old
ethnic conflict. Politically there is no justification is available to postponed the
process to find an amicable political solution to the ethnic conflict, promote and
strengthen democratic governance and strengthen human rights. Therefore, the
dialogue is initiated with the following proposes towards this direction:
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(i) To promoting informed dialogue on human rights standards that is
needed to be integrated at the policy (governance) and implementation
levels.
(ii) To develop Forum Stakeholders capacities to understand issues of
human rights and to promote and protect human rights.
(iii) Assess the real human rights situation in relation to the international
standards and the obligations and commitments of the State.
(iv) Identify the areas that need improvement to ensure the State’s
fulfillment of its commitments and obligation.
(v) Recommend constitutional, legislative and institutional/administrative
reforms needed to promote and protect human rights.
(vi) Define strategies to promote informed public support to advocate on
strengthening human rights.
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HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
What is the relationship between democracy and human rights?
1. Defining and explaining the rights of human beings. A right is a justifiable

claim to have or obtain something, not to be interfered with, or to act or be treated
in a certain way. The rights of human beings may be conceptualized in three
ways: natural rights, positive rights, and constitutional rights.
a. Natural rights are understood as belonging to all humans simply as a part of

their nature. Natural rights are innate or inherent to their existence as human
beings. They are not bestowed as privileges by a constitution, a political
system, or by government. As a result, human beings cannot give up these
rights even if they choose or appear to choose to do so. Thus an “agreement”
to give up natural rights cannot valid or binding. One cannot give up
something that is an essential part of one’s nature. Were this possible to occur,
it would negate one’s humanity.
Natural rights are conceived as pre-existing the creation of a society and as

existing regardless of a person’s status or membership in any society or
nation. The existence and legitimacy of natural rights are thus thought to be
independent of positive endorsement or approval by governments. It follows
that natural rights are fundamentally distinct from rights that are created by
human action. In this view, governments are unable to create these rights.
Governments can only recognize them. In fact, in order to be legitimate,
governments have an obligation to do so.
Furthermore, natural rights cannot be taken away by any person or

government. Because they are “natural” rights, even when they are violated by
government action, they remain “rights,” and the government action is wrong.
In this respect they are “inalienable” and indestructible. Therefore all
legitimate forms of government are obligated to protect them.
Natural rights are said to derive from two possible sources. The first is from
nature itself understood as the all-encompassing “natural order of things.” The
second is from the more specific nature of the human being. In either case, a
commitment to natural rights may include a belief that such rights are derived
from a divine Creator of human beings who made the natural order.
Entailed in the concept of natural rights is the idea that each human
personality has independent moral value to be cherished and protected above
all else. This proposition of the moral integrity of the human being has led to
the belief that all individuals are of equal essential worth.
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Because these rights are conceived as part the unified order of nature, they
exhibit coherence among themselves whose mutual reinforcement contributes
to the enhancement of human life. Thus the rights to life, liberty, and property,
for instance, can be considered as essentially a unitary right because each right
implicates the others and all work together to protect and promote the quality
of the human condition. In contrast to being a random selection of desirable
ends, natural rights are connected into a pattern that reflects the larger needs
and purposes of human existence.
From the perspective of a natural rights philosophy, all human beings can
apprehend natural rights through their native moral sense, and they can
comprehend them by using their innate capacity for reasoning. This
proposition is itself a latent democratic idea because it asserts that the
common person has instinctual ethical awareness and can make reasoned
judgments about fundamental aspects of human existence and mutual
relationships. Therefore, every person has the potential to be trusted with
making decisions about the governance of himself or herself and of each
other.
b. Positive rights are rights that are created by human beings either as a
deliberate act or as a consequence of human association. They may be enacted
as law or posited by a community in other ways. Positive rights are
established and given sanction because they are articulated by an authoritative
body or arise from a community’s understandings and customs. They not only
pose prohibitions on what government is allowed to do; they impose
obligations for what government is required to do. They usually take written
form and are published and promulgated. They may include, for example,
personal rights, political rights, and economic rights.
Positive rights provide a basis for security of expectations. In this sense,

citizens living in a system of positive rights have the opportunity to know and
reason about what their rights are. Even for those who maintain that rights
have a natural and inherent status, articulating these rights as positive
enactments may provide a more secure basis for their protection. From this
perspective, positive rights provide citizens a set of standards for judging
government and looking after their own interests. Formulating rights in
positive terms provides a means for the people, either directly or through their
institutions, to articulate a specification of rights that they endorse, thus
validating their right to self-government even when they may be imposing
restrictions on popular rule.
The ability of citizens to know their rights and use this knowledge as a means
of controlling government is a crucial attribute of democracy. The ability of
citizens to control the enactment of rights and to limit governmental intrusions
on those rights is a crucial attribute of constitutionalism.
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c. Constitutional rights are rights specifically established by common consent
or stipulation as the explicit basis on which persons agree to be governed. In
this sense, constitutional rights provide the foundational conditions for the
existence of government and serve as fundamental or higher law in much the
same way as natural law. Constitutional rights are at the same time a form of
positive rights. They are typically more general than statutory enactments.
And in this regard, even though they take positive form, they reflect the more
abstract character of natural rights. Constitutional rights may be understood as
articulations or extensions of preexisting natural rights or as newly created
rights that come into being through authoritative enactments by human beings.
Whereas positive rights rely on an articulation in law by the legislative power

of a country, constitutional rights arise from sovereign enactment or
endorsement by a people in the exercise of their right to establish the
conditions for their self-government. In this sense constitutional rights take on
the character of higher law controlling the acts of government, irrespective of
governmental will, in the same way that natural rights are thought to constrain
whether government has recognized them or not. Constitutional rights,
therefore, occupy a middle position between natural rights and positive rights
in that they take the form of positive rights and have the effect of inherent
rights.
2. Defining “human rights.” The idea of a human right is that each person holds
the right as an attribute of his or her humanity. The term “human rights” has come
to refer broadly to those rights that are inherent in human nature, essential to
human need, or fundamental to human purpose—whether these rights arise from
natural, positive, or constitutional sources.
From one perspective human rights and natural rights are one and the same thing
in that human rights are inherent in all persons in virtue of their nature. From
another perspective, human rights and natural rights overlap only partially. Some
human rights may be identical with natural rights, some may contain attributes of
natural rights, and some may be entirely independent. Thus some of what are
called “human rights” may be interpretations of natural rights, some may be
extensions of natural rights, and some may be newly invented by human
ingenuity. Regardless of whether human rights are equivalent to natural rights,
human rights are similar to natural rights in that they belong to every person as a
consequence of membership in the “community of mankind.”
Transposition of human rights into positive rights takes place when the legislative
power of a country enacts a provision protecting a right that is denominated a
human right. A country may also incorporate or ratify some or all of those rights
contained in international enunciations of rights such as the Universal Declaration
of Rights.
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Translation of human rights into constitutional rights occurs when the sovereign
power of a country authorizes a right that is conceived of as a human right. The
sovereign power may also incorporate or ratify some or all of those rights
contained in international enunciations of rights such as the Universal Declaration
of Rights. In this fashion human rights are incorporated into a country’s
constitution.
a. Human rights as a regime of obligations. The idea of rights entails the

question of obligations to respect or fulfill them. Positions differ on what
obligations, if any, arise from the concept of human rights. From the most
conventional point of view, a set of human rights is not solely a list of
desirable ends. It is a regime of obligations. It imposes duties upon human
associations and individuals. Otherwise the statement that a value is a right is
nothing more than an exhortation and it loses the compelling character of a
claim of right. Thus the idea of human rights provides a systematic ordering of
rights and obligations that supercedes the formal institutions of government
and adhere to the individual irrespective of membership in any community.
b. Human rights as a set of desired ends. From another point of view, human
rights present a set of desired ends or values that every country should strive
to achieve. But because human rights are not self-enforcing, when they have
not been consented to, there is no basis for claiming that a country is obligated
to fulfill them. Accordingly, human rights operate only as an external standard
of judgment for a community’s consideration and not as an independent
constraint. Otherwise the sovereignty of even a democratic people would be
diminished.
c. Movement for human rights. Regardless of which of these points of view is

accepted, the movement for human rights has been a force of increasing
potency for transforming the world for more than three centuries. It has
provided a basis for demands that governments respect rights fundamental to
political and personal liberty and to fair and humane treatment. It has also
legitimized such demands. There is no universal agreement, however, on the
existence and status of human rights, i.e., whether they are natural, positive, or
constitutional.
d. Controversies over philosophical foundations. Even for those who accept

the concept of human rights as crucial to the transformation of political orders,
the philosophical foundation for human rights is controversial.
• This controversy includes questions about whether human rights are

obligatory on political systems, whether these political systems accept
them or not. One position is that they are directly binding as a force of
nature; another is that they must be “translated” into constitutional
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provisions or legal requirements before they can be authoritatively
applied.
• Another aspect of the controversy questions the origin or source of human

rights. From one perspective, “human” rights arise from international
agreements as a sort of universal legislation that is either legally or
morally binding on all civilized nations. This may take the form of
treaties, declarations, covenants, and conventions. The alternative position
is that “human” rights are the same as “natural” rights. From this
perspective, the idea of “human rights” has evolved from the seventeenth-
and eighteenth-century concept of “natural rights.” This concept arises
from the idea of rights inhering in nature and, in particular, rights that are
attributes of human nature.
In this sense, human rights cannot be fundamentally distinguished from

rights arising solely from enactment by a legal system— that is “positive
rights,” such as a right to a particular minimum wage. Even when human
rights are conceived of as requiring positive enactment they may still be
regarded as having a higher or more fundamental status than other positive
rights.
3. Elaborating human rights. The broad concept of human rights as universally

essential to the human personality has inspired attempts to elaborate sets of
particular and concrete rights that implement and extend natural rights. Essential
human rights can only be actualized by translating them into more particular
rights that entail rules and procedures that make them operational. For example,
the three essential rights to life, liberty, and property, because of their
encompassing generality, must be elaborated and protected by an array of specific
rights, including those providing for procedural justice or due process of law. Not
only must essential human rights be translated into more particularly applicable
rights, but also these more specific rights must be protected and promoted by
institutions designed for this purpose. In addition, some human rights may be
purposively “coined”—by an act of deliberate creation, such as many of the rights
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For example the right to periodic
holidays with pay or the right to intellectual property.
a. Formal classifications of human rights.

In the past century, three categories of human rights have come into common
usage. These categories are
• Personal, civil, and political rights. This category includes rights

considered essential to liberty and self-governance. They include the rights
of the individual to freedom of conscience, thought, speech, and religious
expression; and the right to freedom of association and to participate.
Other rights sometimes included in this category include the right to be
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treated fairly by government, the right to access to an independent tribunal
for the protection of human rights, the right to citizenship.
• Economic and social rights. This category includes rights considered

essential to human life and human dignity. They include the rights to
property, to social equality, and to a basic standard of living adequate to
protect health, security, and well-being. Other rights sometimes included
in this category include the right to work and to free choice of
employment; to just and favorable working conditions and protection
against unemployment; the right to equal pay for equal work; the right to
form and join trade unions; the right to acquire, use, and transfer property;
and the right to rest and leisure.
• Cultural and solidarity rights. This category includes rights considered

essential to respecting the values and traditions of groups of people
throughout the world. They include rights to collective self-determination
and rights to language, religion, and culture. Other rights sometimes
included are the right of parents to choose the kind of education that shall
be given to their children; and the right of the family to be protected by
government.
Within and among these categories, there may be differences of opinion whether
particular rights are inherent in human nature, essential to human need, or
fundamental to human purposes and therefore should be considered as “human
rights.” There also may be differences of opinion over whether these rights are all
of the same importance especially if they seem inconsistent with each other.
Some deny that human rights are universal. According to this view, rights are
considered valid only because they are integral to a particular form of political
order, such as the political rights essential to a democracy or the economic rights
essential to a social democracy. This view may deny the validity of one or more
of the categories of human rights or particular rights within these categories.
Moreover one may claim that one or more of these categories of rights must be
affirmatively expressed in constitutions or positively enacted by government in
order to exist as rights at all.
In this latter sense, claims of human rights must be regarded as social aspirations
or universal needs, or they may be considered as desires only. In any case, the
array of rights reflected in these categories may produce entitlements or
expectations that are mutually incompatible. Moreover, some particular rights in
these categories may be achievable only at the cost of subordinating individual
liberty to commitments arising from an understanding of other human needs. And
in some cases a program to implement some of these rights may be used in a
pernicious attempt to suppress other human rights (e.g., trading economic rights
for political liberty, trading the promise of future social prosperity for personal
rights).
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4. Human rights as implying standards for government and politics. The values
associated with human rights imply standards for the way government is to be
formed, the purposes it is to serve, and the manner in which it conducts its
activities. Thus the ends of government and the means used to attain them are
constrained by the necessity not to violate basic human rights but to support and
protect them.
5. Democracy and human rights. If human rights derive from a broad-based

understanding of the nature and purpose of human beings (i.e., what qualities all
human beings share in common), it may follow that the form of government most
likely to effectively honor these rights is one in which political power is broadly
based. Thus the concept of human rights finds its political parallel in democracy;
and the connection between rights and democracy promotes the evolution of both.
Regardless of the source of rights, governments chosen and controlled by

democratic majorities, or by even broader political coalitions than a simple
majority, are logically more likely to respect rights that are held in common by
the population. Those whose rights and interests are at stake can be expected to
judge best whether they are well protected.
Although democracy may be conceived as congruent with human rights, there are
some qualities of human rights that appear to be especially complementary to
democracy and some that are especially problematic for it.
a. Human rights as necessary for democracy. Certain human rights, such as

freedoms of political expression, association, movement, and assembly,
are necessary in order to have free and fair electoral competition. In
addition, democracy itself-including the right of all citizens to vote and
run for office- is increasingly seen in international legal and philosophical
discourse as a human right.
b. Human rights as complementary to democracy. Human rights, seen as

embodying the essential purposes of legitimate government, serve to provide a
foundation for democracy and its authoritative use of power. A practical
concern for the realization of human rights tends to focus the energy of a
political system on the achievement of goals that benefit the entire population
and contribute to the enhancement of a civilized way of life. Thus human
rights flesh out the character of democratic governance beyond a
preoccupation with the representation of interests and the popular will.
Democracy is reinforced when citizens are knowledgeable about their rights
and can use this knowledge as a recourse against government power because
they have the idea that it is legitimate for them to make strong claims against
government power on behalf of their own fundamental interests or rights. At
the same time, constitutionalism is enhanced when governmental power is
bounded by its obligation to observe and protect the rights of persons.
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Thus human rights may establish the basis for prohibitions on the use of
governmental power by providing a countervailing force beyond limitations
on the powers of government arising from its constitutional authorization.
Also, articulating, elaborating, and publicizing human rights—for the purpose
of making them part of common discourse—enable citizens to make claims
against governments, organizations, and individuals.
The need to establish institutions that have the purpose of promoting and
protecting human rights contributes to worthiness of democratic governance.
c. Human rights as problematic for democracy. Enthusiasm for identifying

and elaborating rights has led to expanding the list of rights and an increasing
number of more specific rights. One part of this logic is that if a few rights are
good, more rights are better. Another part of this logic is that if something is
good and valuable, it should be enshrined as a right.
• Problems of proliferation. With the proliferation of rights classified as

“human rights,” the rights specifically elaborated to carry into practical
effect the essential natural rights may lose their connection with those
essential rights. What starts out as a strategy to make general human rights
operational moves into a program to add new rights to the classic set of
natural rights. With the multiplication of human rights, the fundamental
and compelling character of the essential rights may be eclipsed and the
instrumental rights may be considered equal or superior to the essential
rights. Human rights in general may be devalued when relatively trivial
rights are indiscriminately mingled with fundamental rights. In extreme
cases the focus on less important rights replaces honoring the more
important rights or is used as an excuse to suppress the more fundamental
rights.
• Problems of trivialization. As these new rights increase in number they

may tend to undermine the original rights because they lose the coherence
of a mutually reinforcing relationship with each other. Instead lists of
rights may appear to be composed randomly and to include everything that
some people consider desirable. There may also be a tendency to equate
essential rights with their instrumental rights and to consider all human
rights of the same priority. The consequence is that not only are human
rights devalued, but the very concept of a right itself becomes little more
than the expression of a wish. The attributes which meet the criteria for
classifying a value as a right may be altogether absent so that claims of
rights become merely hortatory and not obligatory.
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• Problems of absolutism. The style of human rights discourse may
undermine the very process of democratic politics. When human rights are
asserted as absolutes, they may preempt political decision making
altogether. If human rights claims are considered to supercede
deliberations about policy, they preclude the give and take of democratic
decision making which results in compromise; thus these claims
themselves are removed from public deliberation. In addition, a limitless
proliferation of human rights and a preoccupation with issues regarding
them may lead to the exclusion of consideration of important public policy
issues because human rights discourse dominates the public agenda.
Finally, when the answers to public policy issues are presented as
predetermined by human rights arguments, they eliminate the possibility
of democratic choice and de-legitimize the very process of public
deliberation.
• Distrust of politics. The proliferation of human rights may arise from a

deep-seated distrust of politics itself where institutions of government
cannot be trusted to look to the welfare and interests of the people. By
putting a large number of decisions beyond the reach of debate—whether
by institutions, majorities, or individuals— the protection of rights is
mandated and insulated from the political process. The problem is that this
may leave little room for democratic decision making or de-legitimize
democratic choices that are inconsistent with the instrumental elaborations
of human rights.
• Unattainable expectations. The proliferation of human rights may be so

extensive or exacting that people’s expectations are raised to an
unattainable level. It may become impossible for government or other
institutions to fulfill them all (because of such factors as resources or
competing priorities or time). In these circumstances the competence of
government is called into question and there may be a generalized popular
sense of resentment at promises unfulfilled, an erosion of confidence in
government, and a feeling that politics is meaningless.
6. Determining the compatibility of human rights with democracy. Depending on
their character and formulation, human rights can be either compatible or
incompatible with democracy because they may constrict the range of public
decision making on the one hand or they may under gird the purposes of popular
self-government on the other hand. Citizens must therefore be able to make
judgments about the character and formulation of specific human rights as well as
the concept of human rights in general. Persistent questions about the character and
formulation of human rights include:
• Are some human rights more essential or fundamental than others?
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• Are some human rights absolute? Are others not?
• Are any or all human rights obligatory on nation-states regardless of their

consent?
• Under what circumstances, if any, may human rights be compromised on

behalf of compelling public needs or interests?
• Do some categories of claims for human rights preclude public debate about
policies that might affect them?
• Is it wise to limit the number human rights to a few very general rights or to
embrace a large number of specific rights?
• Can human rights become obligatory for democratic countries and, if so, what
is the justification for that obligation?
• What is the relationship between rights and obligations?
• What is the relationship between government’s obligation not to infringe upon

human rights and a mandate to protect and promote them?
• Is it legitimate for a country or an international organization to enforce the

protection of human rights in nations that appear to violate them?
• Is there a human right to a political order in which life, liberty, and property
are secure?
• Is there a universal human right to democracy?
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Economic social and cultural Rights
In adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the international

community recognized that human beings can only achieve freedom from fear
and want, as well as freedom of speech and belief, if conditions are created
whereby all people can enjoy all human rights.
The origins of economic, social and cultural rights

Although economic, social and cultural rights are often described as “new” or
“second generation” rights, they have in fact been recognized for centuries. Both
the French and American national rights declarations in the late 18th century
included concepts such as “the pursuit of happiness” and “equality and
brother/sisterhood”, and the rights to form trade unions, to collective bargaining
and to safe labour conditions. The first global human rights institution, the
International Labour Organization (ILO), has protected workers’ rights and a
broader compass of human rights since 1919. Its Constitution recognizes that
“universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social
justice”.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reiterated that “recognition of the

inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the
human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”. It
went on to place a number of economic, social and cultural rights side by side
with civil and political rights. These include:
 the right to work, to just and fair conditions of employment, and to protection
against unemployment
 the right to form and join trade unions
 the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, including
food, clothing, housing, medical care and social services, as well as security
in the event of loss of livelihood, whether because of unemployment,
sickness, disability, old age or any other reason
 the right to education, which shall be free and compulsory in its “elementary
and fundamental” stages
 the right to participate in cultural and scientific life
From 1948 to 1966 the international community struggled to agree an

international covenant on human rights to turn this declaration into binding
international law. Ultimately, the intense ideological cleavages of the time led to
the adoption of two separate covenants, one on economic, social and cultural
rights and the other on civil and political rights. Differing approaches were taken
in each. While states are required to “respect and ensure” civil and political
rights, they are required only to “achieve progressively the full realization of”
economic, social and cultural rights. Nevertheless, as shown below, both contain
immediate obligations and obligations to be achieved progress
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The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted in
1966, enshrines the economic, social and cultural rights contained in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in more developed and legally binding
form.16 At the time of writing, 151 states had ratified the Covenant.
The Covenant was, and remains, the most complete international standard on
economic, social and cultural rights. However, international standards developed
at around the same time in specialized agencies, such as the ILO and the UN
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), detailed specific
human rights within their mandates. Also, since 1965 the international community
has developed standards on rights relating to specific groups within society, for
example, racial and ethnic groups, women, indigenous peoples and children.
These standards contain relevant provisions on the application of economic,
social and cultural rights to these groups.
In many ways an arbitrary classification, the term “economic, social and cultural
rights” covers a range of human rights, from rights to education, adequate
housing, health, food and water, to the right to work and rights at work, as well as
the cultural rights of minorities and indigenous people.
Cultural rights
Culture – the context of individuals’ lives in their communities – can affect all
aspects of human life from housing, food, the relationship with land and the
natural environment, health care, religion, education and the arts. Related rights,
such as the right to adequate food and to education, require that food and
education policies be culturally appropriate. Determining cultural appropriateness
is complicated as “cultures” are never monolithic.
Cultural rights are protected in international standards in a diffuse way. The

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights protects the right
to participate in cultural life and to enjoy the benefits of science and culture. It
outlines the duty of the state to preserve, develop and disseminate science and
culture. More concrete provisions are found in international law relating to
indigenous peoples (see Chapter 6) and in minority rights standards and those
relating to the elimination of racial discrimination. Individuals and groups
defending cultural rights internationally most often rely on the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 27) which protects the rights of
members of minorities, in community with others, to enjoy their own culture, to
profess and practice their own religion, and to use their own language.
The right to adequate food

There is more than enough food produced in the world to feed everyone, and yet
hundreds of millions are chronically malnourished. To comply with obligations
related to the right to adequate food, states must immediately tackle hunger and
progressively ensure that “every man, woman and child, alone or in community
17
with others, has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or
means for its procurement”. Obligations to realize the right to food require the
state to ensure:
 Availability: possibilities either for feeding oneself directly from

productive land or other natural resources, or from well-functioning
distribution, processing and market systems. This includes obligations of
the state when acting internationally to ensure respect for the right to food
in other countries, to protect that right, to facilitate access to food, and to
provide the necessary aid when required.
 Accessibility: both economic accessibility (through economic activity,

appropriate subsidies or aid) and physical accessibility (in particular for
vulnerable groups). The socially vulnerable or otherwise disadvantaged
may need attention through special programmes. They include victims of
natural disasters and people living in disaster-prone areas.
 Acceptability: “The availability of food in a quantity and quality sufficient

to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, free from adverse substances,
and acceptable within a given culture.”
One of the most basic obligations under the right to food is the duty on states not
to starve those within their control, such as prisoners. As the UN Human Rights
Committee has established, when the state arrests and detains individuals, it
takes on direct responsibility to care for their lives, for example to provide
adequate medical treatment, living conditions and food. Human rights standards
also speak to gender-specific aspects of the right to food, requiring states to
meet the needs of women during pregnancy, confinement and after giving birth.
The right to adequate housing

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has noted that more
than one billion people worldwide lack adequate housing and that over 100
million are homeless. “Without adequate housing, employment is difficult to
secure and maintain, physical and mental health is threatened, education is
impeded, violence is more easily perpetrated, privacy is impaired and
relationships are strained.” Under the right to adequate housing, everyone should
have a degree of security of tenure, protecting them from forced eviction,
harassment and other threats. Services available should include safe drinking
water, sanitation and energy. Housing should be accessible to all, including the
poor, and priority should be given to the most vulnerable. According to
international standards, states should take steps to ensure that housing is
located in safe areas, away from military sites, dangerous emissions or pollution;
is near transport links and employment opportunities; and respects cultural rights.
Forced evictions, whereby people are removed involuntarily from their homes
without legal protection or the assurance of alternative accommodation, are a
18
gross violation of a range of human rights. They often leave people at risk of
damage to their health, unemployment and sexual abuse, and children unable to
continue with their education. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights has clarified that human rights law requires that people be ensured the
greatest possible security of tenure, and that strict controls be placed on the
circumstances in which evictions can take place.
The right to education

The right to education encompasses the right to free and compulsory primary
education, and increasing access to secondary, technical, vocational and higher
education. It cuts across the false divide between human rights, as it has civil,
cultural, economic, political and social elements. Realizing people’s right to
education reduces their vulnerability to child labour, early marriage,
discrimination and many other human rights abuses. It also increases their
opportunities to realize other human rights, including the right to health and the
right to participate in public affairs.
States must ensure free and compulsory primary education as a matter of

priority, and freedom of education (the right of parents to ensure education in
conformity with their religious and philosophical convictions). To accord with
human rights obligations, governments must ensure that education is adequately
available; accessible (financially as well as physically); acceptable (it should
respect cultural rights and the human rights of learners); and adaptable.
Minimum core elements of the right to education include prioritizing free and
compulsory primary education for all children, and ensuring that educational
content accords with human rights principles. This includes fostering diversity
and understanding, rather than segregation and prejudice.
The right to health

The right to health is the right to the “highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health” given the individual’s genetic make-up and lifestyle choices, as
well as the extent of scientific understanding and the maximum of resources
available to the state. It encompasses freedoms (such as the right to control
one’s health and body) and entitlements (for example, to equality of access to
health care), and consists of two basic components: healthy living conditions and
health care.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has adopted a broad
conception of the right to health, recognizing it as:
“an inclusive right extending not only to timely and appropriate health care but
also to the underlying determinants of health, such as access to safe and potable
water and adequate sanitation, an adequate supply of safe food, nutrition and
housing, healthy occupational and environmental conditions, and access to
health related education and information, including on sexual and reproductive
health. A further important aspect is the participation of the population in all
19
health-related decision-making at the community, national and international
levels.
To guide interpretation of the obligations under the right to health, the Committee
outlined the following elements:
 Adequate health care facilities, trained professionals and essential

medicines must be available.
 Health facilities, goods, services and information on health must be

physically and economically accessible to everyone without
discrimination.
 Health facilities, goods, services and information must respect medical

ethics, be culturally appropriate and sensitive to gender and life-cycle
requirements in order to be acceptable.
 Health facilities, goods, services and information must also be scientifically

and medically appropriate and of good quality. This requires, among
other things, skilled medical personnel, scientifically approved and
unexpired drugs and hospital equipment, safe and potable water, and
adequate sanitation.
Potential violations of the right to health include:

 deliberately withholding or intentionally misrepresenting information
essential for the prevention or treatment of illness or disability
 promoting harmful substances
 failing to ban or discourage harmful cultural practices
 failing to control activities of corporations that have adverse impacts on
health
 failing to adopt a detailed plan for realizing the minimum core obligations
of the right to health.
The Special Rapporteur has also explored the relationship between the
right to health and the agenda of the World Trade Organization. Many free
trade agreements restrict the production of generic medicines and greatly
extend patent protections, and are likely to result in more expensive medicines
that are less accessible to the poor without effective state subsidies.
The right to water

In 2000 the World Health Organization estimated that 1.1 billion people did not
have access to a water supply capable of providing them with the safe drinking
water necessary for a life with dignity. Lack of safe water is a cause of serious
illnesses such as diarrhoeal diseases, which kill over 2 million people every year
(the vast majority children, mostly in developing countries).
20
The right to water is increasingly recognized in international and regional human
rights instruments, as well as in national constitutions. Access to sufficient clean
water and sanitation is essential to realize the right to health, to food and to
secure livelihoods (for example, in food production). The right to water, like the
right to food, has recently been interpreted to include securing sufficient
availability, access (both physical and economic) and quality (free from harmful
organisms or pollution).
As with other economic, social and cultural rights, priority should be given to the
most vulnerable, that is to “those individuals and groups who have traditionally
faced difficulties in exercising this right, including women, children, minority
groups, indigenous peoples, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced
persons, migrant workers, prisoners and detainees.”
The right to work and rights at work

Often derided as the right to a job and an obligation to ensure full employment,
the right to work is perhaps the least understood of the economic, social and
cultural rights discussed here. Nevertheless, the right to work entails at least the
right to access to employment without discrimination, free choice of employment,
and a supportive structure that aids access to employment, including appropriate
vocational education.
Rights at work, on the other hand, are more detailed. They include the right to fair
wages, to equal pay for work of equal value, to safe and healthy working
conditions, and to reasonable limitations on working hours, the prohibition of
dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy, as well as equality of treatment in
employment.
A particularly egregious violation of the right to free choice of work is forced

labour – work exacted through the threat of some form of penalty, whether penal
or the loss of rights or privileges.
State’s Obligations under the international law:
International standards on economic, social and cultural rights, although

universally applicable, take into account the differing resources available to each
state. They allow for the fact that full realization of these rights can only be
achieved progressively over time, where sufficient human, technical and
economic resources are available, including through international cooperation
and assistance, such as development aid.
Duties to respect, protect and fulfill rights

Economic, social and cultural rights have often been seen as primarily “positive”
obligations on states and derided as a “wish list”. In fact, being the “provider of
last resort” (stepping in where individuals and communities are otherwise unable
to realize their rights) is only one element of the state’s obligations.
21
State obligations to realize all human rights are of three types:
 to respect: not to interfere with the exercise of a right

 to protect: to ensure others do not interfere, primarily through effective
regulation and remedies, and
 to fulfil: including to promote rights, facilitate access to rights, and provide
for those unable to provide for themselves
The obligation to respect human rights requires states to refrain from interfering
directly or indirectly with people’s enjoyment of human rights. This is an
immediate obligation. It includes respecting efforts people themselves make to
realize their rights. Governments must not torture, unduly inhibit the right to
strike, arbitrarily close private schools teaching in minority languages, or carry
out forced evictions without due process of law or providing alternative
accommodation, for example.
Under the obligation to protect human rights, states must prevent, investigate,
punish and ensure redress for the harm caused by abuses of human rights by
third parties – private individuals, commercial enterprises or other non-state
actors. This is an immediate obligation. Governments must regulate and monitor,
for instance, corporate use of private security firms, potentially hazardous
industrial emissions, the treatment of workers by their employers, and the
adequacy and appropriateness of services that the state delegates or privatizes,
including private medical practices and private schools.
States have an obligation to fulfil human rights by taking legislative,

administrative, budgetary, judicial and other steps towards the full realization of
human rights. This obligation should be realized progressively. This obligation
includes duties to facilitate (increase access to resources and means of attaining
rights) and provide (ensure that the whole population may realize their rights
where they are unable to do so themselves.) The authorities must, for example,
provide defendants with any necessary interpretation so that they can
understand court proceedings, or introduce meaningful vocational training to
ensure that students benefit from education. Above all, governments must give
priority to meeting the minimum essential levels of each right, especially for the
most vulnerable.
Economic, social and cultural rights are not mere aspirations, or goals to be
achieved progressively over time. Under international law, states have immediate
obligations, as well as longer-term duties. Regardless of their stage of
development, states must take action to fulfil economic, social and cultural rights
(including reviewing their laws and policies), and must refrain from violating these
rights. States must ensure that there is no discrimination, whether direct or
indirect, in the realization of these rights. Governments must also regulate the
22
behaviour of private individuals, businesses and other non-state actors to ensure
that they respect human rights.
As the international community has repeatedly recognized, all human rights are
universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. Human dignity requires
respect for all human rights of all people: there can be no higher priority than the
right to live with dignity.
23
International Human Rights Standards
and the
Obligations and Commitments
of the
Government
24
Human Rights and Development
What is the Human Right to Development?
Every individual and all peoples have the Human Right to Development, and to other
fundamental human rights linked to and dependent upon realization of the Human Right
to Development. Development is a comprehensive process involving sustainable
improvement of the economic, social and political well-being of all individuals and
peoples. Development aims for the realization of all human rights -- civil, cultural,
economic, political, and social -- and for the greatest possible freedom and dignity of
every human being.
The Human Rights at Issue
The Human Right of every woman, man, youth and child to Development includes the
following universal, indivisible, interconnected and interdependent human rights:
 The human right to economic, political, social, and cultural development which is
sustainable, which results in a fair distribution of benefits to individuals and
peoples throughout a society, and which allows for the realization of all other
human rights.
 The human right to an international environment in which the human right to
development and all other human rights can be fully realized.
 The human right to full and equal participation in developmental and
environmental planning and decision-making, and in shaping all policies affecting
one=s community and living conditions, at the local, national and international
levels.
 The human right to share in the benefits of scientific progress.
 The human right to equality of opportunity and freedom from discrimination
based on gender, race, religion, or any other status.
 The human right to an adequate standard of living, including access to safe food,
water, and housing.
 The human right to work and to receive wages that contribute to an adequate
standard of living.
 The human right to safe working conditions, including adequate safeguards for
pregnant women.
 The human right to equal access for all persons to productive resources,
including land, credit, and technology.
 The human right to a safe and healthy environment.
 The human right to the highest attainable standard of health.
 The human right of the child to live in an environment appropriate for physical
and mental development.
 The human right to equal access to education and information, including
reproductive education.
 The human right to equality between men and women, including in all matters
relating to reproduction, and to equal partnership in the family and society.
 The human right to peace.
 The human right of individuals and peoples to self-determination, including their
right to determine freely their political status, to pursue their economic, social and
25
cultural development, and to have full and complete sovereignty over all their
natural wealth and resources.
Governments' Obligations to Ensuring the Human Right to

Development
What provisions of human rights law guarantee everyone the Human Right
to Development?
Includes the following articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the ILO Indigenous and Tribal
Peoples Convention (No. 169).
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 22, 25, 27, and 28
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Articles 1, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13,
and 15
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Article 5
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 24, 26, 27, 28, and 32
ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, (No. 169), Article 7
Governments' Commitments to Ensuring the Human Right to

Development:
What commitments have governments made to ensuring the realization of

the Human Right to Development for all?
Includes standards in the following articles from the Declaration on the Right to
Development, and commitments made at the Earth Summit in Rio, the World
Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the International Conference on
Population and Development in Cairo, the World Summit for Social Development
in Copenhagen, the Habitat II conference in Istanbul.
Declaration on the Right to Development, Articles 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8
Rio Declaration, Principles 1, 4, and 5
Agenda 21, Chapter 3, paras. 4 and 7
Vienna Declaration, Part I, para. 10, and Part II, para. 72
Copenhagen Declaration, paras. 7 and 9, and Commitments 8 and 9
26
Cairo Programme of Action, Principle 3 and para. 3.16
Beijing Declaration, para. 36
Habitat Agenda, paras. 2.29 and 3.43
Human Rights and Discrimination
What is the Human Right to Freedom from Discrimination?
Every woman, man, youth and child has the human right to freedom from
discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other
status, and to other fundamental human rights dependent upon realization of the
human right to freedom from discrimination. These human rights are explicitly set
out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants,
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other widely adhered to
international human rights treaties and Declarations -- powerful tools that must
be put to use in efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination.
The Human Right to Freedom from Discrimination entitles every woman, man,
youth and child to fundamental human rights including:
The human right to freedom from any distinction, exclusion, restriction or

preference based on gender, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, language,
religion, political or other opinion, age, or any other status, which has the purpose
or effect of impairing the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms
The human right to equality between men and women and to equal partnership in
the family and society
The human right to equality between the boy-child and girl-child in all areas,
including education, health, nutrition, and employment
The human right of all persons to freedom from discrimination in all areas and
levels of education, and to equal access to continuing education and vocational
training.
The human right to work and receive wages that contribute to an adequate
standard of living
The human right to equal remuneration for equal work
The human right to the highest attainable standard of health
27
The human right to live in a safe and healthy environment
The human right to participate in shaping decisions and policies affecting one's
community, on the local, national and international level
Governments' Obligations to Ensuring the Human Right to Freedom from

Discrimination
What provisions of human right law guarantee everyone the Human Right to
Freedom from Discrimination?
The following standards includes the obligations of the government from the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, and the Convention against Discrimination in Education.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Articles 2, 3, 7, and 13
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Articles 2, 3, 14, 23, 24, 26 and 27
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Articles 2,
7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Articles 2, 5, and 6
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 2, 28, and 30
Convention against Discrimination in Education, Articles 3, 4, and 5
Governments' Commitments to Ensuring the Human Right to Freedom from

Discrimination
What commitments have governments made to ensuring the realization of the

Human Right to Freedom from Discrimination?
Following standards includes commitments made at the World Conference on Human

Rights in Vienna, the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, the World
Conference on Women in Beijing, and the Habitat II conference in Istanbul, and excerpts
from the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination
Based on Religion or Belief, and the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to
National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities.
Vienna Declaration, Part I, paras. 15, 18, 19, and 22

Copenhagen Declaration, Commitments 4 and 5
Copenhagen Programme of Action, paras. 73 and 74
Beijing Declaration, paras. 24 and 32
Beijing Platform for Action, paras. 58, 61, 165, and 232
28
Istanbul Declaration, para. 7
Habitat Agenda, paras. 27 and 40
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or
Linguistic Minorities,Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based
on Religion or Belief, Articles 2 and 4
29
Human Rights and Education
What is the Human Right to Education?
Every woman, man, youth and child has the human right to education, training
and information, and to other fundamental human rights dependent upon
realization of the human right to education. The human right of all persons to
education is explicitly set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenants, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other
widely adhered to international human rights treaties and Declarations -- powerful
tools that must be put to use in realizing the human right to education for all!
The human right to education entitles every woman, man, youth and child to: The
human right to free and compulsory elementary education and to readily
available forms of secondary and higher education.
The human right to freedom from discrimination in all areas and levels of
education, and to equal access to continuing education and vocational training.
The human right to information about health, nutrition, reproduction and family
planning.
The human right to education is inextricably linked to other fundamental human

rights -- rights that are universal, indivisible, interconnected and interdependent
including:
 The human right to equality between men and women and to equal
partnership in the family and society.
 The human right to work and receive wages that contribute to an adequate
standard of living.
 The human right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief.
 The human right to an adequate standard of living.
 The human right to participate in shaping decisions and policies affecting
one=s community, at the local, national and international levels.
30
Education
to Education?
Includes excerpts from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, and the Convention against Discrimination in Education.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 13
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Articles 10 and 14
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 28 and 29
Convention against Discrimination in Education, Articles 3, 4, and 5

Education:

the Human Right to Education for all?
Includes commitments made at the Earth Summit in Rio, the World Summit for
Social Development in Copenhagen, the World Conference on Women in Beijing,
and the Habitat II conference in Istanbul, and excerpts from the.World
Declaration on Education for All, and the Amman Affirmation.
Agenda 21, Chapter 36, para. 3; Chapter 3, para. 2; Chapter 24, para. 3
Copenhagen Declaration, Commitment 6
Beijing Platform for Action, paras. 69, 80, 81, and 82
World Declaration on Education for All, Preamble and Article 1
Amman Affirmation, 1996
31
Human Rights and the Environment
What is the Human Right to A Safe and Healthy Environment?
Every woman, man, youth and child has the human right to a safe and healthy
environment, and to other fundamental human rights linked to and dependent
upon a healthy environment.
Human Rights relating to the environment are set out in basic human rights
treaties and include: The human right to a safe and healthy environment.
The human right to the highest attainable standard of health.
The human right to ecologically sustainable development.
The human right to an adequate standard of living, including access to safe food
and water.
The human right of the child to live in an environment appropriate for physical
The human right to full and equal participation for all persons in environmental
decision-making and development planning, and in shaping decisions and
policies affecting one=s community, at the local, national and international levels.
The human right to safe working conditions, including adequate safeguards for
pregnant and lactating women.
The human right to freedom from any type of discrimination.
The human right to education and information, including information relating to

links between health and the environment.
The human right to share in the benefits of scientific progress.
32
Governments' Obligations to Ensuring the Human Right to a
Safe and Healthy Environment:
What provisions of human right law guarantee everyone the Human Right
to a Safe and Healthy Environment?

on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, and the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (No.
169).
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 22, 25, and 27
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Articles 1, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, and
15
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Articles 11 and 14
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Articles 2 and 5
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 24 and 27
ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (No. 169), Article 7
Governments' Commitments to Ensuring the Human Right to a

Safe and Healthy Environment:

the Human Right to a Safe and Healthy Environment?
Includes commitments made at the Earth Summit in Rio, the World Conference
on Women in Beijing, and the Habitat II conference in Istanbul.
Rio Declaration, Principles 1 and 4
Agenda 21, Chapter 1, para. 1 and Chapter 6, para. 40
Beijing Platform for Action, paras. 253 and 256
Habitat Agenda, paras. 29, 42 and 43
33
Human Rights and Health
What is the Human Right to Health?
Every woman, man, youth and child has the human right to the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health, without discrimination of any kind.
Enjoyment of the human right to health is vital to all aspects of a person's life and
well-being, and is crucial to the realization of many other fundamental human
rights and freedoms.
Human Rights relating to health are set out in basic human rights treaties and
include:
The human right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,
including reproductive and sexual health.
The human right to equal access to adequate health care and health-related
services, regardless of sex, race, or other status.
The human right to equitable distribution of food.
The human right to access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
The human right to an adequate standard of living and adequate housing.
The human right to a safe and healthy environment.
The human right to a safe and healthy workplace, and to adequate protection for
pregnant women in work proven to be harmful to them.
The human right to freedom from discrimination and discriminatory social

practices, including female genital mutilation, prenatal gender selection, and
female infanticide.
The human right to education and access to information relating to health,

including reproductive health and family planning to enable couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly all matters of reproduction and
sexuality.
The human right of the child to an environment appropriate for physical and
mental development.
34
Health
to Health?

on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on
the Rights of the Child
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Articles 7, 11, and 12
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Articles 10, 12, and
14
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 24

Health

the Human Right to Health?
Includes commitments made at the Earth Summit in Rio, the International

Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, the World Summit for
Social Development in Copenhagen, the Habitat II conference in Istanbu
Agenda 21,Chapter 6, paras. 1 and 12
Cairo Programme of Action, Principle 8 and para. 8.6
Beijing Platform for Action, para. 89 and para 106
35
Human Rights and Adequate Housing
What is the Human Right to Adequate Housing?
Every woman, man, youth and child has the human right to a secure place to
live, which is fundamental to living in dignity, to physical and mental health, and
to overall quality of life. The human right to housing is explicitly set out in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, and other widely adhered to international human
rights treaties and Declarations. Despite widespread recognition of the human
right to adequate housing, the UN Centre for Human Settlements estimates that
over 1 billion people worldwide live in inadequate housing, and 100 million are
homeless.
The Human Right to Adequate Housing guarantees all people the right to live in
security, peace and dignity. It involves more than the right to access to shelter
and includes the following indivisible, interdependent and interrelated human
rights:
 The human right to adequate shelter.

 The human right to an adequate standard of living.
 The human right to access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
 The human right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health.
 The human right to a safe and healthy environment.
 The human right of the child to an environment appropriate for physical
 The human right to access to resources, including energy for cooking,
heating, and lighting.
 The human right of access to basic services, schools, transportation and
employment options.
 The human right to affordability in housing so that other basic needs are
not threatened or compromised.
 The human right to freedom from discrimination in access to housing and
related services based on sex, race, or any other status.
 The human right to choose one's residence, to determine where and how
to live and to freedom of movement.
 The human right to freedom from arbitrary interference with one's privacy,
family or home.
 The human right to security, including legal security of tenure.
 The human right to protection from forced evictions and the destruction or
demolition of one's home including in situations of military occupation,
36
international and civil armed conflict, establishment and construction of
alien settlements, population transfer, and development projects.
 The human right to equal protection of the law and judicial remedies for
the redress of violations of the human right to adequate housing.
Governments' Obligations to Ensuring the Human Right to Adequate

Housing:
What provisions of human rights law guarantee everyone the Human Right to
Adequate Housing?
Includes excerpts from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and the International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Article 14
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Article 21
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of
their Families, Article 43

Adequate Housing

the Human Right to Adequate Housing for all?
Includes excerpts from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights, General Comment No. 4, the Declaration on the Right to Development,
and commitments made at the Earth Summit in Rio, and the Habitat II
conference in Istanbul.
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 4, paras. 1, 6 and 7
Declaration on the Right to Development, Article 8
Agenda 21, Chapter 7, paras. 6 and 9
Istanbul Declaration, paras. 8 and 15
Habitat Agenda, paras. 3, 26, and 27
Habitat Agenda, paras. 39, 40, and 43
37
Human Rights, Livelihood, and Land
What is the Human Right to Livelihood and Land?
The Human Right to Livelihood and Land is the human right of all women, men, youth
and children to a dignified and productive livelihood which enables them to live in peace,
security, justice and dignity. All people have the fundamental human right to fulfilling,
dignified work and livelihood, including equal access to land and productive resources,
and to basic labor protections.
The Human Right to Livelihood and Land includes the following universal, indivisible,
interconnected and interdependent human rights:
The human right to livelihood and work that is freely chosen and that contributes to an
adequate standard of living.
The human right to basic labor protections; freedom of association; freedom from forced
labor; adequate, safe working conditions; equal pay for equal work.
The human right to freedom from discrimination based on gender, race, ethnic identity,
or any other status.
The human right to full equality before the law, including equality in rights to own land or
to inherit.
The human right to equal access to productive resources, including land, credit, and
technology.
The human right to equal access to education and training.
The human right of indigenous peoples to maintain their own ways of life, including the
right to use lands to which they have traditionally had access for subsistence.
The human right of indigenous peoples to maintain their distinctive spiritual and material
relationship with the lands, to own land individually and in community with others, and to
transfer land rights according to their own customs.
The human right of indigenous peoples to use, manage and safeguard the natural
resources pertaining to their lands.
The human right to security of tenure and freedom from forced eviction.
The human right of all people and peoples to full and effective participation in shaping
decisions and policies, including policies of development and agrarian reform,
concerning themselves and their community, at the local, national and international
levels.
38
Governments' Obligations to Ensuring the Human Right to Livelihood and
Land
What provisions of human rights law guarantee the Human Right to Livelihood
and Land?
Includes excerpts from the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (No. 169), the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention
on the Rights of the Child.
ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (No. 169), Articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
and 19
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Articles 2, 8, 21, 22, and 27
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Articles 1 and 2
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Articles 11, 13, 14

Livelihood and Land
What commitments have governments made to ensure the realization of

the Human Right to Livelihood and Land?
Includes commitments made at the Earth Summit in Rio, the International

Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, the World Summit for
Social Development in Copenhagen, the World Conference on Women in Beijing,
and the Habitat II conference in Istanbul, and excerpts from the Draft Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Agenda 21, Chapter 10, para. 5; Chapter 12, para. 28; and Chapter 26, para. 3
Cairo Programme of Action, para. 6.27
Copenhagen Declaration, Commitments 2 and 3
Beijing Platform for Action, paras. 55, 58, and 60
Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Articles 7, 10, 21, 25, 26, 27, and 30
39
Human Rights, Peace, and Disarmament
What is the Human Right to Peace and Disarmament?
The human right of every woman, man, youth and child to peace and disarmament lies
at the heart of the realization of all human rights. War and violence result in the systemic
and sweeping denial of civil and political rights, along with economic, social, and cultural
rights as scarce resources are expended on weapons and preparation for war. Enduring
peace will be attained only when all human rights are fulfilled.
The human right of all persons to peace and disarmament is inextricably linked to all
other human rights -- rights that are universal, indivisible, interconnected and
interdependent. The human right to peace and disarmament includes:
The human right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman treatment or punishment.
The human right to freedom from arbitrary executions, detention, and disappearance.
The human right to freedom from genocide, ethnic cleansing and rape as a strategy of
war.
The human right to protection and assistance to displaced and refugee women.
The human right to live by the rule of law.
The human right to freedom from violence of all types, inside and outside the home.
The human right to freedom from sexual or racial discrimination.
The human right to equality between men and women and to full and equal partnership
in the family and society.
The human right to freedom from poverty.
The human right to food, medical care and necessary social services.
The human right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being.
The human right to education.
The human right of the child to an environment appropriate for his or her physical,
mental, spiritual and moral well-being and development.
The human right of all people to full and equal participation in decision-making and
efforts aimed at the prevention and resolution of conflicts.
40
Governments' Obligations to Ensuring the Human Right to Peace and
Disarmament
Peace and Disarmament?
Includes excerpts from the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and the Convention on the
Rights of the Child.
UN Charter, Preamble and Art. 1

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 3, 4, 5, 25 and 28
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Articles 6, 7, 9, and 20
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Articles 11, 12 and 13
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Articles 1 and 2
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 6, 19, 24, 27, 28, 37 and 39
Governments' Commitments to Ensuring the Human Right to Peace and

Disarmament

Human Right to Peace and Disarmament?
Includes commitments made at the Earth Summit in Rio, the World Summit for Social
Development in Copenhagen, the Habitat II conference in Istanbul.
Rio Declaration, Principles 24 and 25

Copenhagen Declaration, para. 5 and Commitment 1(h)
Copenhagen Programme of Action, para. 70
Habitat Agenda, para. 25
41
Human Rights and Poverty
What is the Human Right to Freedom from Poverty?
Poverty is a human rights violation. Every woman, man, youth and child has the
human right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, to food,
clothing, housing, medical care and social services. These fundamental human
rights are defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW, the
International Covenants and other widely adhered to international human rights
treaties and Declarations -- powerful tools that can empower efforts for social and
economic justice worldwide.
The human right to live in dignity, free from want, is itself a fundamental right,
and is also essential to the realization of all other human rights -- rights that are
universal, indivisible, interconnected and interdependent. The right to be free
from poverty includes:
The human right to an adequate standard of living.
standard of living.
The human right to a healthy and safe environment.
The human right to live in adequate housing.
The human right to be free from hunger.
The human right to safe drinking water.
The human right to primary health care and medical attention in case of illness.
The human right to access to basic social services.
The human right to education.
The human right to be free of gender or racial discrimination.
The human right to participate in shaping decisions that affect oneself and one=s
community.
The human right for children to develop in an environment appropriate for their
physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development
42
Poverty
What provisions of human rights law guarantee all persons the Human Right to
Freedom from Poverty?
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 22, 23, 25, 26

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Articles 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Articles 10, 11, 12,
13, and 14
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Article 5,

Poverty:

Human Right to Freedom from Poverty for all?
Includes commitments made at the Earth Summit in Rio, the World Summit for Social
Development in Copenhagen, the World Conference on Women in Beijing, and the
Habitat II conference in Istanbul.
Rio Declaration, Principle 5

Agenda 21, Chapter 3, para. 2
Beijing Platform for Action, para. 26
43
Human Rights and Race
What is the Human Right to Freedom from Racial Discrimination?
Every woman, man, youth and child has the human right to freedom from
discrimination based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin, and to
other fundamental human rights dependent upon realization of the human right to
freedom from racial discrimination. These human rights are explicitly set out in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and other widely adhered to international
human rights treaties and Declarations -- powerful tools that must be put to use
in efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.
The human right to freedom from racial discrimination entitles every woman,
man, youth and child to fundamental human rights including:
The human right to freedom from any distinction, exclusion, restriction or

preference based on race, colour, national or ethnic origin, language, or any
other status, which has the purpose or effect of impairing the enjoyment of
human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The human right to freedom from discrimination in all areas and levels of
education, and to equal access to continuing education and vocational training.
standard of living.
The human right to equal remuneration for equal work.
The human right to the highest attainable standard of health.
The human right to live in a safe and healthy environment.
The human right to participate in shaping decisions and policies affecting one's
community, on the local, national and international level.
44
Racial Discrimination
What provisions of human rights law guarantee all persons the Human Right to
Freedom from Racial Discrimination?
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial
Discrimination, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Articles 2, 14, 24, and 26
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Articles 2, 5, and 6

Racial Discrimination

Human Right to Freedom from Racial Discrimination?
Includes commitments made at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the
World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, the World Conference on
Women in Beijing, and the Habitat II conference in Istanbul.
Vienna Declaration, para. 15, 16, and 19

Istanbul Declaration, para. 7
45
Human Rights and Religion
What is the Human Right to Freedom of Religion?
Every woman, man, youth and child has the human right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion. These fundamental human rights are explicitly set out in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance
and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief and other widely adhered to
international human rights treaties and Declarations.
 The Human Right to Freedom of Religion includes the following indivisible,

interdependent and interrelated human rights:
 The human right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
 The human right to manifest one=s religion or belief in worship,
observance, practice and teaching.
 The human right to freedom from discrimination based on religious beliefs
or activities, or because of refusal to conform to a certain religion.
 The human right to freedom of expression and of association.
 The human right to conscientious objection on grounds of religious belief.
 The human right of parents to choose schools for their children which
ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity
with their own convictions.
46
Governments' Obligations to Ensuring the Human Right to Freedom of
Religion
Freedom of Religion?
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 2 and 18

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Articles 1, 18, 19, 21, and 22
Governments' Commitments to Ensuring the Human Right to Freedom of

Religion

Human Right to Freedom of Religion for all?
Includes excerpts from the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and
of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, AReligious Freedom of Indigenous
Peoples,@ Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities, Resolution 1996/36, and commitments made at the World Summit for Social
Development in Copenhagen , the Habitat II conference in Istanbul.
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on

Religion or Belief, Arts. 1, 2, 4, and 5
Copenhagen Programme of Action, paras. 73(a)
47
Human Rights and Work
What is the Human Right to Work? What are the Human Rights of Workers?
The Human Right to Work is the human right of all women, men, youth and
children to dignified, creative and productive labor, free from discrimination and
exploitation, enabling all persons to live in peace, security, justice and dignity. All
workers have human rights to basic labor protections. Engagement in any kind of
production should be fruitful and rewarding.
The human right of all persons to dignified and fulfilling work includes the
following universal, indivisible, interconnected and interdependent human rights:
 The human right to work and receive wages that contribute to an adequate
standard of living.
 The human right to a standard of living adequate for well-being, health and
life.
 The human right to equal access to productive resources, including land,
credit, and technology.
 The human right to freedom of association.
 The human right to protection from forced labor.
 The human right to adequate, safe working conditions.
 The human right to a clean and safe environment.
 The human right to reasonable limitation of working hours, rest and
leisure.
 The human right to education and access to information, including
vocational training.
 The human right to freedom from discrimination based on race, sex, or
any other status, in all aspects of work, including in hiring and promotion.
 The human right to equal pay for equal work.
 The human right to freedom from sexual harassment in the workplace.
 The human right to proper consideration of women=s reproductive rights
and sexuality, including job security during and after pregnancy, flexible
working conditions, and access to child care.
 The human right to protection during pregnancy from work proven to be
harmful.
 The human right to equal rights within the family, including shared
responsibilities for children's upbringing.
 The human right to unemployment protection and social security.
 The human right of indigenous peoples to maintain their own ways of life,
including the right to use lands to which they have traditionally had access
for subsistence.
48
 The human right to protection for the child from economic exploitation and
from any work that may be hazardous to his or her well-being and
development.
49
Governments' Obligations to Ensuring the Human Right to Work and
the Human Rights of Workers
What provisions of human rights law guarantee the Human Right to Work
and the Human Rights of Workers?

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
ILO Equal Remuneration Convention (No. 100), the ILO Discrimination
(Employment and Occupation) Convention (No. 111), the ILO Minimum Age
Convention (No. 38), the ILO Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right
to Organize Convention (No. 87), the ILO Right to Organize and Collective
Bargaining Convention (No. 98), the ILO Forced Labour Convention (No. 29), the
ILO Employment Policy Convention (No. 122), and the ILO Indigenous and Tribal
Peoples Convention (No. 169).
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 4, 20, 23, 24, and 25

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Articles 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Articles 8, 21, and 22
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Articles 11,
13, 14
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 15, 27, 32, and 34
ILO Equal Remuneration Convention (No. 100), Article 2
ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (No. 111), Articles 2 and 3
ILO Minimum Age Convention (No. 38), Articles 1, 2, and 3
ILO Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention (No. 87),
Articles 2 and 11
ILO Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention (No. 98), Article 1
ILO Forced Labour Convention (No. 29), Article 1
ILO Employment Policy Convention (No. 122), Article 1
ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (No. 169), Articles 3, 7, 13, and 14
Governments' Commitments to Ensuring the Human Right to Work

and the Human Rights of Workers

the Human Right to Work and the Human Rights of Workers?
Includes excerpts from the ILO Declaration of Philadelphia, and commitments

made at the Earth Summit in Rio, the World Summit for Social Development in
Copenhagen, the World Conference on Women in Beijing, and the Habitat II
conference in Istanbul.
ILO Declaration of Philadelphia
Agenda 21, Chapter 3, para. 2; Chapter 29, para. 7; and Chapter 24, para. 3
50
Habitat Agenda, para. 28
51
International Covenants on Human Rights
The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two
Optional Protocols. "...in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political freedom and
freedom from fear and want can be achieved only if conditions are created
whereby everyone may enjoy his civil and political rights, as well as his
economic, social and cultural rights."
"...the International Bill of Human Rights represents a milestone in the history of

human rights, a veritable Magna Carta marking mankind's arrival at a vitally
important phase: the conscious acquisition of human dignity and worth."
--Fact Sheet No.2 (Rev.1) The International Bill of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights

(UDHR)
Excerpts from the International Bill of Rights, Fact Sheet #2, UN Centre for
Human Rights:
The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 "was the first
occasion on which the organized community of nations ... made a Declaration of
human rights and fundamental freedoms...."
"Conceived as 'a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all
nations,' the Universal Declaration ... has become just that: a yardstick by which
52
to measure the degree of respect for, and compliance with, international human
rights standards...."
"In the Proclamation of Teheran, adopted by the International Conference on

Human Rights ... in 1968, the Conference agreed that 'the Universal Declaration
.... states a common understanding of the peoples of the world concerning the
inalienable and inviolable rights of all members of the human family and
constitutes an obligation for the members of the international community.'"
The Declaration consists of 30 articles setting forth the civil and political, and
economic, social and cultural rights to which all persons are entitled, without
discrimination.
Economic, social and cultural rights are set out in Articles 22-27, and are rights to
which everyone is entitled "as a member of society." "[Article 22] characterizes
these rights as indispensable for human dignity and the free development of
personality, and indicates that they are to be realized 'through national effort and
international cooperation.' At the same time, it points out the limitations of
realization, the extent of which depends on the resources of each State."
Unofficial Summary
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to the same rights without discrimination of any kind.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel or degrading treatment or
punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to be recognized everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection of the law.
Article 8
53
Everyone has the right to justice.
Article 9
No one shall be arrested, detained, or exiled arbitrarily.
Article 10
Everyone has the right to a fair trial.
Article 11
Everyone has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Article 12
Everyone has the right to privacy.
Article 13
Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and to leave and return to one's
country.
Article 14
Everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution.
Article 15
Everyone has the right to a nationality.
Article 16
All adults have the right to marry and found a family. Women and men have
equal rights to marry, within marriage, and at its dissolution.
Article 17
Everyone has the right to own property.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
Article 20
Everyone has the right to peaceful assembly and association.
Article 21
Everyone has the right to take part in government of one's country.
Article 22
Everyone has the right to social security and to the realization of the economic,
social and cultural rights indispensable for dignity.
54
Article 23
Everyone has the right to work, to just conditions of work, to protection against
unemployment, to equal pay for equal work, to sufficient pay to ensure a dignified
existence for one's self and one's family, and the right to join a trade union.
Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure.
Article 25
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being,
including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services.
Article 26
Everyone has the right to education.
Article 27
Everyone has the right to participate freely in the cultural life of the community.
Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which these rights can
be realized fully.
Article 29
Everyone has duties to the community.
Article 30
No person, group or government has the right to destroy any of these rights.
55
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESR)
Unofficial Summary
Article 1
All peoples have the right of self-determination, including the right to determine
their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development.
Article 2
Each State Party undertakes to take steps to the maximum of its available
resources to achieve progressively the full realization of the rights in this treaty.
Everyone is entitled to the same rights without discrimination of any kind.
Article 3
The States undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the
enjoyment of all rights in this treaty.
Article 4
Limitations may be placed on these rights only if compatible with the nature of
these rights and solely for the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a
democratic society.
Article 5
Article 6
Article 7
Everyone has the right to just conditions of work; fair wages ensuring a decent
living for himself and his family; equal pay for equal work; safe and healthy
working conditions; equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted; rest and
leisure.
56
Article 8
Everyone has the right to form and join trade unions, the right to strike.
Article 9
Everyone has the right to social security, including social insurance.
Article 10
Protection and assistance should be accorded to the family. Marriage must be

entered into with the free consent of both spouses. Special protection should be
provided to mothers. Special measures should be taken on behalf of children,
without discrimination. Children and youth should be protected from economic
exploitation. Their employment in dangerous or harmful work should be
prohibited. There should be age limits below which child labor should be
prohibited.
Article 11
Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living for himself and his
family, including adequate food, clothing and housing. Everyone has the right to
be free from hunger.
Article 12
Everyone has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health.
Article 13
Everyone has the right to education. Primary education should be compulsory

and free to all.
Article 14
Those States where compulsory, free primary education is not available to all
should work out a plan to provide such education.
Article 15
Everyone has the right to take part in cultural life; enjoy the benefits of scientific
progress.
57
International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR)
Unofficial Summary
Article 1
All peoples have the right of self-determination, including the right to determine
their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development.
Article 2
Each State must respect and ensure to all people within its territory and
jurisdiction all rights in this treaty without discrimination of any kind.
Article 3
The States undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the
enjoyment of all rights in this treaty.
Article 4
Derogation from State obligations is to be strictly limited.
Article 5
Derogation from State obligations is to be strictly limited.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to life.
Article 7
No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel or degrading treatment or

punishment.
Article 8
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
58
Article 9
Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be arrested
or detained arbitrarily.
Article 10
Everyone deprived of liberty shall be treated with respect.
Article 11
No one shall be imprisoned merely for failing to pay a debt.
Article 12
Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and to leave and enter his own
country.
Article 13
An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party may be expelled only in

accordance with law.
Article 14
Everyone is equal before the law. Everyone has the right to a fair trial. Everyone
has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one may be
compelled to testify against himself.
Article 15
No one shall be held guilty of a criminal offense when the act did not constitute a
criminal offense at the time it was committed.
Article 16
Everyone has the right to be recognized everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 17
Everyone has the right to privacy.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
59
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
Article 20
Propaganda for war shall be prohibited. Hate speech that constitutes incitement
to discrimination or violence shall be prohibited.
Article 21
Everyone has the right to peaceful assembly.
Article 22
Everyone has the right to freedom of association, including the right to join a
trade union.
Article 23
All adults have the right to marry and found a family. Women and men have
equal rights to marry, within marriage, and at its dissolution.
Article 24
Every child shall have protection as required by his status as a minor, without
discrimination of any kind. Every child has the right to a nationality.
Article 25
Every citizen has the right to take part in public affairs and to vote.
Article 26
Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection of the law,
without discrimination of any kind.
Article 27
Ethnic, religious, or linguistic minorities shall not be denied the right to enjoy their
own culture.
60
Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW)
Excerpt from the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, part I, para. 18:
"The human rights of women and of the girl-child are an inalienable, integral and
indivisible part of universal human rights. The full and equal participation of
women in political, civil, economic, social and cultural life, at the national,
regional and international levels, and the eradication of all forms of discrimination
on grounds of sex are priority objectives of the international community."
Excerpts from Discrimination Against Women: The Convention and the

Committee, Fact Sheet #22, UN Centre for Human Rights:
"Equality is the cornerstone of every democratic society which aspires to social

justice and human rights. In virtually all societies and spheres of activity women
are subject to inequalities in law and in fact. This situation is both caused and
exacerbated by the existence of discrimination in the family, in the community
and in the workplace. While causes and consequences may vary from country to
country, discrimination against women is widespread. It is perpetuated by the
survival of stereotypes and of traditional cultural and religious practices and
beliefs detrimental to women...."
"The concept of equality means much more than treating all persons in the same
way.... True equality can only emerge from efforts directed towards addressing
and correcting ... situational imbalances. It is this broader view of equality which
has become the underlying principle and the final goal in the struggle for
recognition and acceptance of the human rights of women...."
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

... sets out, in legally binding form, internationally accepted principles on the
rights of women which are applicable to all women.... The basic legal norm of the
Convention is the prohibition of all forms of discrimination against women. This
norm cannot be satisfied merely by the enactment of gender-neutral laws. In
addition to demanding that women be accorded equal rights with men, the
Convention goes further by prescribing the measures to be taken to ensure that
women everywhere are able to enjoy the rights to which they are entitled." "The
Convention was adopted by the General Assembly in 1979 to reinforce the
provisions of existing international instruments ... designed to combat the
continuing discrimination against women. It identifies many specific areas where
there has been notorious discrimination against women, for example in regard to
political rights, marriage and the family, and employment. In these and other
areas the Convention spells out specific goals and measures that are to be taken
61
to facilitate the creation of a global society in which women enjoy full equality with
men and thus full realization of their guaranteed human rights."
CEDAW
Unofficial Summary
Article 1
Definition of discrimination against women: any distinction, exclusion, or

restriction, made on the basis of sex, with the purpose or effect of impairing the
enjoyment by women of political, economic, social, cultural, or civil human rights
on equal footing with men.
Article 2
States Parties condemn discrimination against women and undertake to pursue a

policy of eliminating it in all its forms. States Parties undertake to: include the
principles of equality of men and women in national constitutions; adopt
legislation prohibiting all discrimination against women; ensure legal protection
and effective remedy against discrimination; refrain from any act of discrimination
against women and ensure that no public authorities or institutions engage in
discrimination; take measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any
person, organization or enterprise; take measures to modify or abolish existing
laws, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women.
Article 3
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, especially in the political,
social, economic and cultural fields, to ensure the full development and
advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them enjoyment of
human rights on equal footing with men.
Article 4
Affirmative action measures shall not be considered discrimination. Special

measures protecting pregnancy shall not be considered discriminatory.
Article 5
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures: to modify social and cultural
patterns of conduct of men and women which are based on ideas of inferiority or
superiority or on stereotyped roles for men and women; to ensure that family
education includes the recognition of the common responsibility of men and
women in raising children.
Article 6
62
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to suppress traffic in women
and exploitation of prostitution.
Article 7
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination

against women in political and public life and shall ensure equal rights to vote
and be eligible for election; to participate in forming government policy and to
hold public office; to participate in NGOs.
Article 8
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure a woman¹s equal
right to represent her government at the international level and participate in the
work of international organizations.
Article 9
States Parties shall grant women equal rights to a nationality. Neither marriage
nor change of nationality by the husband during marriage shall automatically
change the nationality of the wife. Women shall have equal rights with men with
respect to their children's nationality.
Article 10
States Parties shall ensure to women equal rights in the field of education. States
Parties shall ensure the same conditions for career guidance, access to studies,
the same teaching staff and equipment. Stereotyped roles of men and women
are to be eliminated in all forms of education. States Parties shall ensure that
women have the same opportunities to benefit from scholarships and the same
access to continuing education. States Parties shall ensure the reduction of
female drop-out rates and shall ensure that women have access to educational
information to help ensure health and well-being of families, including information
on family planning.
Article 11

against women in employment and shall ensure, on the basis of equality of men
and women, the same rights to work, to the same employment opportunities, to
free choice of employment, to promotion, benefits, vocational training, equal
remuneration, equal treatment in respect of work of equal value, the right to
social security, unemployment, protection of health. States Parties shall prohibit
dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy and discrimination in dismissals on the
basis of marital status. States Parties shall take measures to introduce maternity
leave with pay or social benefits.
63
Article 12

against women in the field of health care and shall ensure women equal access
to health care services and appropriate services in connection with pregnancy.
Article 13

against women in other areas of economic and social life and shall ensure the
same rights to family benefits, to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of
credit.
Article 14
States Parties shall take into account the special problems of rural women and
the significant roles they play in the economic survival of their families and shall
ensure to them all rights in this convention. States Parties shall ensure equal
rights of men and women to participate in and benefit from rural development,
and shall ensure to rural women the rights to: participate in development
planning; have access to adequate health care facilities and family planning;
benefit from social security programs; receive training and education; have
access to agricultural credit and loans, marketing, and appropriate technology;
receive equal treatment in land reform; and have adequate living conditions,
particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply,
transport and communications.
Article 15
Women shall have equality with men before the law. Women and men shall have
the same rights regarding movement of persons and freedom to choose
residence.
Article 16

against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations and shall
ensure equal rights to enter marriage, to choose a spouse, to enter marriage only
with full consent, the same rights and responsibilities within marriage and in
divorce, the same rights and responsibilities as parents, the same rights to
decide on the number and spacing of children, the same rights with regard to
ownership of property. A minimum age shall be set for marriage.
64
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination (CERD)
Excerpts from The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Fact
Sheet #12, UN Centre for Human Rights:
The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial

Discrimination (CERD) is a legal instrument building upon the 1963 Declaration
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
The Declaration makes four principal points:
 Any doctrine of racial differentiation or superiority is scientifically

false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous and has
no justification in theory or practice;
 Racial discrimination -- and more so, government policies based on
racial superiority or hatred -- violate fundamental human rights,
endanger friendly relations among peoples, co-operation among
nations, and international peace and security;
 Racial discrimination harms not only those who are its objects but
also those who practise it;
 A world society free of racial segregation and discrimination, factors
which create hatred and division, is a fundamental aim of the
United Nations.
Under the Convention, States parties are pledged:
 To engage in no act or practice of racial discrimination against

individuals, groups of persons or institutions, and to ensure that
public authorities and institutions do likewise;
 Not to sponsor, defend or support racial discrimination by persons
or organizations;
 To review government, national and local policies and to amend or
repeal laws and regulations which create or perpetuate racial
discrimination;
 To prohibit and put a stop to racial discrimination by persons,
groups and organizations; and
 To encourage integrationist or multiracial organizations and
movements and other means of eliminating barriers between races,
as well as to discourage anything which tends to strengthen racial
division."
65
CERD
Unofficial Summary
Article 1
Definition of racial discrimination: any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or

preference based on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin with the
purpose or effect of impairing the enjoyment on equal footing of human rights.
Affirmative action policies or measures are not to be deemed racial
discrimination.
Article 2
States Parties condemn racial discrimination and undertake to pursue a policy of

eliminating it in all its forms. States Parties shall engage in no act of racial
discrimination and shall act to ensure that no public authorities and institutions
engage in discrimination. States Parties pledge not to sponsor, defend or support
racial discrimination by any persons or organizations. States Parties shall review
government, national and local policies and amend or repeal laws and
regulations which create or perpetuate racial discrimination. States Parties shall
prohibit and bring to an end racial discrimination by any persons, group or
organization. States Parties shall take affirmative action measures as needed to
ensure the development and protection of individuals belonging to certain racial
groups for the purpose of guaranteeing them the full and equal enjoyment of
human rights.
Article 3
States Parties condemn apartheid and undertake to prevent, prohibit and

eradicate all such practices in their territories.
Article 4
States Parties condemn all propaganda and all organizations based on ideas of
racial superiority. States Parties undertake to act to eradicate all incitement to
discrimination and shall prohibit dissemination of ideas based on racial
superiority and acts of violence or incitement to violence against any race.
Article 5
States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination and to

guarantee to everyone without distinction equality before the law, especially in
the enjoyment of the rights to justice; security of person; political rights, including
the right to vote and to stand for election, to take part in government and public
affairs, and to have equal access to public service; the right to freedom of
movement and residence; the right to leave any country, including one¹s own,
66
and to return to one¹s country; the right to nationality; the right to marriage and
choice of spouse; the right to own property; the right to inherit; the right to
freedom of thought, conscience and religion; the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; the right to peaceful assembly and association; economic, social and
cultural rights, in particular: the rights to work, to free choice of employment, to
equal pay for equal work, to just and favourable remuneration; the right to form
and join trade unions; the right to housing; the right to public health, medical
care, social security and social services; the right to education and training; the
right to equal participation in cultural activities; the right of access to any place or
service intended for use by the general public.
Article 6
States Parties shall assure to everyone within their jurisdiction effective

protection and remedies against acts of racial discrimination.
Article 7
States Parties undertake to adopt measures in education, teaching, etc. to

combat prejudices which lead to racial discrimination.
67
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Excerpts from The Rights of the Child, Fact Sheet #10, UN Centre for Human
Rights:
"The Convention on the Rights of the Child ... is the most complete statement of
children's rights ever made and is the first to give these rights the force of
international law....
The Convention ... has the same meaning for peoples in all parts of the world.
This was made possible in long negotiations, where representatives of countries
with different social and economic systems and various cultural, ethical and
religious approaches to life worked with non-governmental organizations and
United Nations agencies to fashion a set of common values and aims, valid
everywhere....
Encompassing the whole range of human rights -- civil, political, economic, social
and cultural -- the Convention recognizes that the enjoyment of one right cannot
be separated from the enjoyment of others. It demonstrates that the freedom a
child needs to develop his or her intellectual, moral and spiritual capacities calls
... for a healthy and safe environment, access to medical care, and minimum
standards of food, clothing and shelter....
Each new generation offers humanity another chance. If we provide for the
survival and development of children everywhere, protect them from harm and
exploitation and enable them to participate in decisions directly affecting their
lives, we will surely build the foundation of the just society we all want and that
children deserve."
Unofficial Summary by UNICEF
Article 1
Definition of a child
A child is recognized as a person under 18, unless national laws recognize the
age of majority earlier.
Article 2
Non-discrimination
All rights apply to all children without exception. It is the State's obligation to
protect children from any form of discrimination and to take positive action to
promote their rights.
Article 3
Best interests of the child
68
All actions concerning the child shall take full account of his or her best interests.
The State shall provide the child with adequate care when parents, or others
charged with that responsibility, fail to do so.
Article 4
Implementation of rights
The State must do all it can to implement the rights contained in the Convention.
Article 5
Parental guidance and the child's evolving capacities
The State must respect the rights and responsibilities of parents and the
extended family to provide guidance for the child which is appropriate to her or
his evolving capacities.
Article 6
Survival and development
Every child has the inherent right to life, and the State has an obligation to
ensure the child's survival and development.
Article 7
Name and nationality
The child has the right to a name at birth. The child also has the right to acquire a
nationality and, as far as possible, to know his or her parents and be cared for by
them.
Article 8
Preservation of identity
The State has an obligation to protect, and if necessary, re-establish basic

aspects of the child's identity. This includes name, nationality and family ties.
Article 9
Separation from parents
The child has a right to live with his or her parents unless this is deemed to be
incompatible with the child's best interests. The child also has the right to
maintain contact with both parents if separated from one or both.
Article 10
Family reunification
69
Children and their parents have the right to leave any country and to enter their
own for purposes of reunion or the maintenance of the child-parent relationship.
Article 11
Illicit transfer and non-return
The State has an obligation to prevent and remedy the kidnapping or retention of
children abroad by a parent or third party.
Article 12
The child's opinion
The child has the right to express his or her opinion freely and to have that
opinion taken into account in any matter or procedure affecting the child.
Article 13
Freedom of expression
The child has the right to express his or her views, obtain information, make
ideas or information known, regardless of frontiers.
Article 14
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
The State shall respect the child's right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion, subject to appropriate parental guidance.
Article 15
Freedom of association
Children have a right to meet with others, and to join or form associations.
Article 16
Protection of privacy
Children have the right to protection from interference with privacy, family, home
and correspondence, and from libel or slander.
Article 17
Access to appropriate information
The State shall ensure the accessibility to children of information and material
from a diversity of sources, and it shall encourage the mass media to
disseminate information which is of social and cultural benefit to the child, and
take steps to protect him or her from harmful materials.
70
Article 18
Parental responsibilities
Parents have joint primary responsibility for raising the child, and the State shall
support them in this. The State shall provide appropriate assistance to parents in
child-raising.
Article 19
Protection from abuse and neglect
The State shall protect the child from all forms of maltreatment by parents or
others responsible for the care of the child and establish appropriate social
programmes for the prevention of abuse and the treatment of victims.
Article 20
Protection of a child without family
The State is obliged to provide special protection for a child deprived of the family
environment and to ensure that appropriate alternative family care or institutional
placement is available in such cases. Efforts to meet this obligation shall pay due
regard to the child's cultural background.
Article 21
Adoption
In countries where adoption is recognized and/or allowed, it shall only be carried

out in the best interests of the child, and then only with the authorization of
competent authorities, and safeguards for the child.
Article 22
Refugee children
Special protection shall be granted to a refugee child or to a child seeking

refugee status. It is the State's obligation to co-operate with competent
organizations which provide such protection and assistance.
Article 23
Disabled children
A disabled child has the right to special care, education and training to help him
or her enjoy a full and decent life in dignity and achieve the greatest degree of
self-reliance and social integration possible.
Article 24
Health and health services
71
The child has a right to the highest standard of health and medical care
attainable. States shall place special emphasis on the provision of primary and
preventive health care, public health education and the reduction of infant
mortality. They shall encourage international cooperation in this regard and strive
to see that no child is deprived of access to effective health services.
Article 25
Periodic review of placement
A child who is placed by the State for reasons of care, protection or treatment is
entitled to have that placement evaluated regularly.
Article 26
Social security
The child has the right to benefit from social security including social insurance.
Article 27
Standard of living
Every child has the right to a standard of living adequate for his or her physical,
mental, spiritual, moral and social development. Parents have the primary
responsibility to ensure that the child has an adequate standard of living. The
State's duty is to ensure that this responsibility can be fulfilled, and is. State
responsibility can include material assistance to parents and their children.
Article 28
Education
The child has a right to education, and the State's duty is to ensure that primary
education is free and compulsory, to encourage different forms of secondary
education accessible to every child and to make higher education available to all
on the basis of capacity. School discipline shall be consistent with the child's
rights and dignity. The State shall engage in international co-operation to
implement this right.
Article 29
Aims of education
Education shall aim at developing the child's personality, talents and mental and
physical abilities to the fullest extent. Education shall prepare the child for an
active adult life in a free society and foster respect for the child's parents, his or
her own cultural identity, language and values, and for the cultural background
and values of others.
72
Article 30
Children of minorities or indigenous populations
Children of minority communities and indigenous populations have the right to

enjoy their own culture and to practice their own religion and language.
Article 31
Leisure, recreation and cultural activities
The child has the right to leisure, play and participation in cultural and artistic
activities.
Article 32
Child labour
The child has the right to be protected from work that threatens his or her health,
education or development. The State shall set minimum ages for employment
and regulate working conditions.
Article 33
Drug abuse
Children have the right to protection from the use of narcotic and psychotropic
drugs, and from being involved in their production or distribution.
Article 34
Sexual exploitation
The State shall protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse, including
prostitution and involvement in pornography.
Article 35
Sale, trafficking and abduction
It is the State's obligation to make every effort to prevent the sale, trafficking and
abduction of children.
Article 36
Other forms of exploitation
The child has the right to protection from all forms of exploitation prejudicial to
any aspects of the child's welfare not covered in articles 32, 33, 34 and 35.
73
Article 37
Torture and deprivation of liberty
No child shall be subjected to torture, cruel treatment or punishment, unlawful

arrest or deprivation of liberty. Both capital punishment and life imprisonment
without the possibility of release are prohibited for offences committed by
persons below 18 years. Any child deprived of liberty shall be separated from
adults unless it is considered in the child's best interests not to do so. A child who
is detained shall have legal and other assistance as well as contact with the
family.
Article 38
Armed conflicts
States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that children under 15
years of age have no direct part in hostilities. No child below 15 shall be recruited
into the armed forces. States shall also ensure the protection and care of children
who are affected by armed conflict as described in relevant international
Article 39
Rehabilitative care
The State has an obligation to ensure that child victims of armed conflicts,
torture, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation receive appropriate treatment for
their recovery and social reintegration.
Article 40
Administration of juvenile justice
A child in conflict with the law has the right to treatment which promotes the
child's sense of dignity and worth, takes the child's age into account and aims at
his or her reintegration into society. The child is entitled to basic guarantees as
well as legal or other assistance for his or her defence. Judicial proceedings and
institutional placements shall be avoided wherever possible.
Article 41
Respect for higher standards
Wherever standards set in applicable national and international law relevant to

the rights of the child that are higher than those in this Convention, the higher
standard shall always apply.
74
Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Excerpts from Methods of Combating Torture, Fact Sheet #4, UN Centre for
Human Rights:
"Torture is a particularly serious violation of human rights and, as such, is strictly

condemned by international law and, in particular, by the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, article 5, which states that 'No one shall be subjected to torture or
to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment'.
To ensure adequate protection for all persons against such abuses, the United
Nations has sought for many years to develop universally applicable standards.
The Convention against Torture ..., which was adopted by the General Assembly
of the United Nations on 10 December 1984, and many other relevant
conventions, declarations and resolutions adopted by the international
community, clearly state that there may be no exception to the prohibition against
torture....
The Convention against Torture ... not only specifies that the States Parties will
outlaw torture in their national legislation, but also notes explicitly that no order
from a superior or exceptional circumstance may be invoked as a justification of
torture...."
Unofficial Summary
Article 1
Definition of torture: any act by which severe pain or suffering, physical or
mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for purposes such as obtaining
information or a confession from him or another person, punishing, intimidating or
coercing him or another person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any
kind. For the purposes of this convention, such pain and suffering must be
inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the acquiescence of a public official or
someone acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain and suffering
arising from lawful sanctions.
Article 2
Each State Party shall take effective legislative and other measures to prevent
acts of torture. No circumstances of any kind, including war, may be invoked to
justify torture. An order from a superior officer may not be invoked to justify
torture.
75
Article 3
No State Party shall expel, return ("refouler") or extradite a person to another
State where there are substantial grounds to believe he would be subjected to
torture.
Article 4
Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture, attempts to commit torture,
and complicity or participation in torture are offences punishable by law.
Article 5
Each State Party shall establish its jurisdiction over offenses relating to torture
when they are committed in any territory under its jurisdiction, or on board a ship
or aircraft registered in that State; when the alleged offender is a national of that
State; and when the victim is a national of that State, if appropriate. Each State
Party shall also establish its jurisdiction in cases where the alleged offender is in
territory under its jurisdiction and it does not extradite him.
Article 6
Any State Party in whose territory a person alleged to have committed, attempted
or participated in torture is present, shall take him into custody.
Article 7
The State Party, if it does not extradite the alleged offender, will submit the case
to competent authorities for prosecution. The person shall be guaranteed fair
treatment at all stages of the proceedings.
Article 8
Torture, attempted torture, or participation in torture shall be deemed extraditable
offences in any extradition treaty existing between States Parties. This
Convention may be considered a legal basis for extradition if no extradition treaty
exists.
Article 9
States Parties shall provide each other with the greatest degree of judicial
assistance possible in connection with cases of alleged torture and supply all of
the evidence at their disposal.
Article 10
Each State Party shall ensure that education and information regarding the
prohibition against torture are fully included in the training of civil and military law
enforcement personnel, medical personnel, public officials, and others involved in
custody, interrogation, or treatment of any individual subjected to arrest,
detention, or imprisonment.
76
Article 11
Each State Party shall review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and
practices, as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons
subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment, with a view to
preventing any cases of torture.
Article 12
Each State Party shall ensure that its authorities proceed with a prompt and
impartial investigation wherever there is ground to believe that an act of torture
has been committed in territory under its jurisdiction.
Article 13
Each State Party shall ensure that any individual who alleges he has been
subjected to torture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain
to, and to have his case promptly examined by, competent authorities.
Article 14
Each State Party shall ensure in its legal system that the victim of torture obtains
redress and has an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation. In the
event of the death of the victim as a result of torture, his dependents shall be
entitled to compensation.
Article 15
Each State Party shall ensure that any statement made as a result of torture shall
not be used as evidence in any proceedings.
Article 16
Each State Party shall undertake to prevent other acts of cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment which do not amount to torture as defined in
Article 1, when such acts are committed by or at the instigation of or with the
consent or acquiescence of a public official or someone acting in official capacity.
77

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Human Rights and Democratic Governance

Discussion Materials compiled by NDI for the

1. Introduction on Human Rights and Governance

DIALOGUE ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE

 respect human dignity

Democracy and human rights are inseparable, interdependent and mutually

What is the relationship between democracy and human rights?

1. Defining and explaining the rights of human beings. A right is a justifiable

a. Natural rights are understood as belonging to all humans simply as a part of

Natural rights are conceived as pre-existing the creation of a society and as

Furthermore, natural rights cannot be taken away by any person or

Positive rights provide a basis for security of expectations. In this sense,

Whereas positive rights rely on an articulation in law by the legislative power

a. Human rights as a regime of obligations. The idea of rights entails the

c. Movement for human rights. Regardless of which of these points of view is

d. Controversies over philosophical foundations. Even for those who accept

• This controversy includes questions about whether human rights are

• Another aspect of the controversy questions the origin or source of human

In this sense, human rights cannot be fundamentally distinguished from

3. Elaborating human rights. The broad concept of human rights as universally

a. Formal classifications of human rights.

• Personal, civil, and political rights. This category includes rights

• Economic and social rights. This category includes rights considered

• Cultural and solidarity rights. This category includes rights considered

5. Democracy and human rights. If human rights derive from a broad-based

Regardless of the source of rights, governments chosen and controlled by

a. Human rights as necessary for democracy. Certain human rights, such as

b. Human rights as complementary to democracy. Human rights, seen as

c. Human rights as problematic for democracy. Enthusiasm for identifying

• Problems of proliferation. With the proliferation of rights classified as

• Problems of trivialization. As these new rights increase in number they

• Distrust of politics. The proliferation of human rights may arise from a

• Unattainable expectations. The proliferation of human rights may be so

• Are some human rights more essential or fundamental than others?

• Are any or all human rights obligatory on nation-states regardless of their

• Under what circumstances, if any, may human rights be compromised on

• What is the relationship between rights and obligations?

• What is the relationship between government’s obligation not to infringe upon

• Is it legitimate for a country or an international organization to enforce the

• Is there a universal human right to democracy?

In adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the international

The origins of economic, social and cultural rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reiterated that “recognition of the

From 1948 to 1966 the international community struggled to agree an

Cultural rights are protected in international standards in a diffuse way. The

The right to adequate food

 Availability: possibilities either for feeding oneself directly from

 Accessibility: both economic accessibility (through economic activity,

 Acceptability: “The availability of food in a quantity and quality sufficient

The right to adequate housing

The right to education

States must ensure free and compulsory primary education as a matter of

The right to health

 Adequate health care facilities, trained professionals and essential

 Health facilities, goods, services and information on health must be

 Health facilities, goods, services and information must respect medical

 Health facilities, goods, services and information must also be scientifically

Potential violations of the right to health include:

The right to water

The right to work and rights at work

A particularly egregious violation of the right to free choice of work is forced

State’s Obligations under the international law:

International standards on economic, social and cultural rights, although