7. Categories of rights

Author(s):  
Theo van Boven

This chapter discusses different human rights categories. A first categorization distinguishes civil and political rights from economic, social, and cultural rights. This distinction is, however, increasingly contested, and should not disguise the mutual relationship between these rights as essential conditions for the life and well-being of the human person. A second distinction is that between the rights of individuals and the rights of collectivities, in particular indigenous peoples. Collective rights offer parameters for the effective enjoyment of individual rights. A third distinction is that between core rights and other rights, raising the issue of whether there is a ranking among human rights as to their fundamental nature. It is argued that basic substantive rights determining the life, survival, dignity, and worth of individuals and peoples may be considered as core rights. The chapter finally discusses the question of whether ‘new human rights’ are emerging. It suggests that this question be approached with caution, and that human rights should be understood in an inclusive and newly focused manner, encompassing hitherto marginalized and excluded groups and human beings.

2019 ◽  
pp. 220-240
Author(s):  
Tom Campbell

This chapter focuses on human rights. Human rights are derived historically from the idea of natural law as it developed on a strong religious basis in late medieval Europe and, later, in a more secularized form during the more rationalist period of the Enlightenment. Meanwhile, the contemporary human rights movement stems from the aftermath of World War II. It is associated, domestically, with constitutional bills of rights and, internationally, with the work of the United Nations. Human rights may be defined as universal rights of great moral and political significance that belong to all human beings by virtue of their humanity. They are said to be overriding and absolute. Human rights may be divided into three overlapping groups: civil and political rights; economic, social, and cultural rights; and group or collective rights for development and self-determination.


Author(s):  
Joseph M. Wronka

At the heart of social work, human rights are a set of interdependent guiding principles having implications for meta-macro (global), macro (whole population), mezzo (at risk), micro (clinical), meta-micro (everyday life), and research interventions to eradicate social malaises and promote well-being. They can be best understood vis-à-vis the UN Human Rights Triptych. This consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, increasingly referred to as customary international law on the center panel; the guiding principles, declarations, and conventions following it, on the right panel—like the conventions on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); and implementation mechanisms, on the left panel—like the filing of country reports on compliance to conventions, the Universal Periodic Review, thematic and country reports by special rapporteurs, and world conferences. Briefly, this powerful idea, which emerged from the ashes of World War II, emphasizes five crucial notions: human dignity; non-discrimination; civil and political rights; economic, social, and cultural rights; and solidarity rights. Whereas this article emphasizes issues pertaining to the United States, it touches upon other countries as appropriate, calling for a global vision in the hopes that every person, everywhere, will have their human rights realized. Only chosen values endure. The challenge, through open discussion and debate, is the creation of a human rights culture, which is a lived awareness of these principles in one's mind, heart, and body, integrated dragged into our everyday lives. Doing so will require vision, courage, hope, humility, and everlasting love, as the indigenous spiritual leader Crazy Horse reminds us.


1977 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence J. LeBlanc

The human rights proclaimed and affirmed in the various international declarations, conventions, and covenants adopted since World War II fall into two broad categories: civil and political; and economic, social, and cultural. The former includes the traditional rights of man, such as the rights to life and liberty; the latter includes such rights as the right to work, to social security, and to the preservation of one's health and well-being.International agreement in principle on most civil and political rights as human rights has been relatively easy to achieve; disagreement has occurred—and is likely to continue to occur-primarily over their precise meaning. Virtually everyone endorses, for example, a right to life; not everyone agrees, however, that capital punishment or abortion must therefore be prohibited by law.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-189
Author(s):  
Majidatun Ahmala

Human Rights are one of basic rights that had by every humanbeing who has become their destiny when they were born. Actually theHuman Rights are not state’s gifts, law or other human beings. Every humansneed human rights to protect their dignity, as well as a moral foundation inassociating and dealing each other. In Islam, human rights have a highpriority by prioritizing collective rights rather than individual rights. Islamalso teaches his people to respect each other and recognize the rights of one’slife, because live and death are the power of Allah Almighty. Human Rights inIslam are written in Al-Kulliyat Al-Khams, namely hifzh al-din (protectionagainst religion), hifzh al-nafs (protection of the soul), hifzh al-aql (protectionof reason), hifzh al-nasl (protection of offspring), and hifzh al-maal(protection of property). Abdurrahman Wahid of familiarly known as GusDur is a person who has extremly respect about the human values whichcontained in Al-Kulliyat Al-Khams and shows a high commitment to realize ofrespect for human rights. Therefore, it is very interesting to know HumanRights in Al-Kulliyat Al-Khams, Abdurrahman Wahid’s perspective to find outhow his thoughts in realizing to bring into reality the protection of basichuman rights.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 5397-5402

The experiences of successive world wars brought the Universal Declaration, bringing an adherence of acceptance from all the countries which proved to be a comprehensive treatise of inviolable and in alienated human rights. It bestows civil and political rights including right to life, liberty, free speech and privacy. In addition it includes economic, social, cultural rights being right to social security, health and education. These entitled basic rights and fundamental freedom that helps in promoting peace and progress by preventing atrocities against humanity. Widening its domain, today human rights have befitted essential in achieving development goals which enables a constant improvement of well being of inhabitants of the world. The paper aims at drawing a similarity in the case study of an autobiography of 19th century (Amar Jibon by Rassundari Devi) and an autobiography of 21st century (I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai), one being the earliest of women autobiographies and the other being most horrific and recent one. Both the characters establish an indistinguishable coherence between development and acquisition of basic rights for women. Malala recognized as a human rights champion, continued to speak out portraying the indomitable courage even on the face of religious and military activists. Rassundari Devi silenced under patriarchal norms and a life burdened with duty and responsibilities which eventually made her acquire a greater strength to become a lettered woman. The paper presents striking similarity in the status of women from two different time zones who fought for their rights and carved a niche for themselves as liberated women. They emerged successful in terms of their courage and determination by seeking live of equality and freedom.


Author(s):  
Andrew Clapham

‘Human rights’ covers not only civil and political rights such as freedom from torture, slavery, and arbitrary detention, but also economic, social, and cultural rights. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for their health and well-being and the right to security. ‘Food, education, health, housing, and work’ considers these rights in turn, examining their place in a wider view of human rights, and the appropriate mechanisms for their enforcement. A main concern is that economic and social policy is best determined by policy makers who are democratically accountable, and not by unelected judges with no specialized knowledge of how to prioritize the distribution of limited resources.


2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-134
Author(s):  
Alexandre Peñalver i Cabré

Human Right to Environment is one the most relevant Third Generation Human Rights which includes new universal needs arisen from the last third of 20th century. These new human rights add as an additional layer to the First Generation Human Rights (civil and political rights from the end of 18th century) and to the Second Generation Human Rights (economic, social and cultural rights from 19th century).


Author(s):  
Kenneth Pennington

One of the most notable characteristics of Western societies has been the development of individual and group rights in legal, theological, and philosophical thought of the first two millennia. It has often been noted that thinkers in Non-Western societies have not had the same preoccupation with rights. The very concept of rights is laden with numerous problems. Universality is the most basic and difficult. If human rights are only a product of Western ideas of justice, they cannot have universality. In an age that is dominated by conceptions of law embracing some form of legal positivism, many scholars recognize only individual rights that have been established by the constitutional jurisprudence of individual countries or their legal systems. Historically, the emergence of rights in European jurisprudence is intimately connected with the terms ius naturale and lex naturalis in Western jurisprudence and theological thought. Human beings may never agree on universal rules of a natural law, but they might agree on universal precepts that shape the penumbra of rights surrounding natural rights.


Author(s):  
K. S. Loboda

The article is devoted to the United Nations Organization, which turns 75 this year. The article reveals the cooperation between Ukraine and the UN. Despite the ongoing aggression by the Russian Federation, Ukraine pays special attention to the UN's efforts to maintain international peace and security, considering participation in it as an important factor in its foreign policy. Ukraine is an active participant in the activities of the UN system in the field of human rights, a party to all major UN human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Optional Protocols and the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. Since March 2014, at the invitation of our state, the UN Monitoring Mission in the field of human rights has been operating in Ukraine, recording the human rights consequences of Russian aggression. Our country receives significant technical, advisory and financial assistance from UN specialized agencies, its funds and programs, in particular, in the areas of democratic governance, poverty alleviation, achieving the National Sustainable Development Goals, supporting public administration, combating HIV / AIDS and other serious diseases, environment. In connection with the above, it should be emphasized that Ukraine, as a founding member of the United Nations, does not stand aside, but actively cooperates with this respected international organization in all areas of its activities. Ukraine remains a supporter of strengthening and increasing the effectiveness of the UN and adapting to modern challenges in the world. Keywords: United Nations Organization, Ukraine, Security Council, human rights, peacekeeping.


1997 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 812-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Mason

Of all the rights of indigenous people, none is more central to the survival of their culture than the claim to their ancestral lands. The resolution of their claims to ancestral lands is one of the fundamental issues of our time—indeed of all time. Often called a human rights issue—a description apt to reinforce the strong moral foundations of the claims of the indigenous peoples—it is an issue which we cannot ignore. Throughout the world people of all races and all colours have a powerful emotional attachment to their ancestral lands. That attachment is the very core of a people's culture and is vital to the survival of the culture. As the UN Human Rights Committee has recognised, in the context of the exercise of cultural rights protected by Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, “culture manifests itself in many forms, including a particular way of life associated with the use of land resources”.


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