History & Scope and Nature

of Human Rights

1
 Human

A member of the homo

sapiens species; a
woman, or child; a
person
 Rights

Things to which you are

entitled or allowed;
freedoms that are
guaranteed
 Human Rights

The rights you have

simply because you are
human.

We deserve to be treated
with Dignity & Respect.
Human Rights: A
History
 Concept & Definition
Human Rights to the late Senator Jose W.
Diokno, a dedicated human rightest, is the sum
of all the rights which allows a human being to
live a human life.

The United Nations describes them as the

inalienable and inviolable rights of all members
of the human family.

Thus, they are highly valued but once they are

tampered with and lost they become aspirations
or goals to achieve.
Human Rights in Antiquity

Ancient Cultures/Religions/Teachings

a. The Jews/Judaism among the first to put into practice

the policy of respect for the dignity of the individual.
Teaches that respect should be shown to non-Jews living
among the children of Israel. Even the 10 Commandments
can be considered as Ten Commandments of Human
Rights e.g. Thou shall not kill positively stated means
Thou shall respect he right to life.

b. Mesopotamia (ca. 1780 BC) the Code of Hammurabi is

a set of laws which provides for rules and punishments on
a variety of matters including womens rights, childrens
rights and slaves rights.
c. Persian Empire

established unprecedented principles of human

rights under the reign of Cyrus the Great. After his
conquest of Babylon in 539 B.C., he issued the
Cyrus Cylinder, discovered in 1879 and recognized
by many today as the first human rights document.

The cylinder declared citizens of the empire would

be allowed to practice their religious beliefs freely.
It also abolished slavery, so all palaces of the kings
of Persia were built by paid workers in an era
where slaves typically did such works.

The cylinder now lies in the British Museum and a

replica is kept at the United Nations headquarters.
d. Mauryan Empire (India)

established unprecedented principles of civil

rights under the reign of Ashoka the Great.

In ca. 265 BC, after his conquest of Kalinga, he

issued what is known as the Edicts of Ashoka,
where it was spelled out his policy of: nonviolence
(ahimsa), tolerance of all sects and opinions,
obedience to parents, respect for teachers and
priests, being liberal towards friends, humane
treatment of servants and generosity towards all.
e. The Greeks

they passionately debated the art of government

and it was from them that we got such words as
democracy and tyranny.

Their sovereign body was the ecclesia, a general

assembly of all freemen.

Their city-states granted civil rights to their

citizens, like:

Isogoria which is equal to the freedom of speech.

Insonomia which is equality before the law

 They contributed much to the notion of human
rights through the teachings of their philosophers
and thinkers, such as:

1. Aristotle (384-322 BC) who considered the role which

justice should play in human aairs and believed that
honors and riches in society should be granted on the
basis of the eorts expended or the qualities displayed
by each individual.

2. Sophocles (469-406 BC) who wrote the play Antigone,

which suggests that there is an unwritten natural law
which takes precedence over all man-made legislations.

3. The Stoics who accepted the idea of natural expression

of the law or reason ordained by God and believed
there is no dierence between freemen and slaves, and
between foreigners and Greeks.
f. The Romans

As great lawgivers, they had the Roman Twelve Tables (449

BC) which placed emphasis on the necessity of a proper
trial, the presentation of evidence and proof, and the
illegality of bribery in judicial proceedings.

Did not impose their own law but developed the legal
concept of JUS GENTIUM, or the law of the peoples which
became a shield and the protector against the arbitrary
power of Roman Governors or the unlawful acts of fellow
citizens.

Through their great jurist and statesman Marcus Tullius

Cicero (106-43 BC), contributed to the development of
human rights when he proposed a well-developed
conception of natural law (JUS NATURALE) which was
eternal and immutable and which applied to all people at all
times. He also recognized the essential equality of all men.
g. Christianity

An aspect of Christianity which supports

human rights is the concept of the
immortality of the soul which lays emphasis
on each mans importance and worth as an
individual.

Associated with a social philosophy typified

by Jesus Sermon of the Mount which
upholds the dignity of the individual
particularly the poor and the oppressed of
the world.
h. Islam

Belief that human rights in Islam is universal in

character and intention, and that the concept is
based on human nature in the manner the Creator
had planned things.

In Islam, life is sacred because it comes from Allah,

hence only Allah has the right to take away life,
except when one is in the pursuit of justice.

It is the right of every Muslim to search for

knowledge, or the right to education.

For the Muslims, the poor has the right to a share in

the wealth and resources of the rich.

According to the Quran, Muslims have the right to

travel for trade and other useful purposes or the
right to freedom of movement.
 th
Middle Ages and the Era leading to the 20 Century

a. In 1215, King John of England issued the Magna Carta, a

document forced upon him by the Pope and English barons,
which required him to renounce certain rights, respect certain
legal procedures and accept that the will of the King could be
bound by law. Although the document did not itself limit the power
of the King in the Middle Ages, its later reinterpretation in the
Elizabethan and Stuart periods established it as a powerful
document on which constitutional law was founded in Britain and
elsewhere.

b. In 1222, the Manden Charter in Mali was a declaration of essential

human rghts, including the right to life, and opposed the practice
of slavery.

c. th th
Several 17 and 18 century European philosophers, most
notably John Locke, developed the concept of natural rights, the
notion that people possess certain rights by virtue of being
human.
d. The United States Declaration of Independence in
1776 includes concepts of natural rights and
famously states that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their creator with certain
alienable rights, that among these are life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.

e. The French Revolution of 1789, in its Declaration of

the Rights of Man and of the citizens, hghly
manifests such rights in the following articles:

Article 1. Men are born and remain free and equal in

rights. Social distinctions can only be founded upon
the general good.

Article 4. Liberty consists in being able to do everything

which injures no one.
 Modern Concepts of Human Rights

Atrocities committed during World War II

convinced many people that human rights had
to be established on a firm foundation to
prevent recurrence of such horrors.

On 1 January 1942, all allied powers signed a

Declaration of the United Nations stating that:

complete victory over their enemies is essential to

defend life, liberty, independence and religious
freedom and to preserve human rights and justice
in their own lands as well as in other lands.
 In 1948, the United Nations adopted the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights which:

Is basically a continuation of the classic definition

of human rights based on natural law;

Covers the rights to life, liberty, property, equality,

justice and the pursuit of happiness;

Asserts rights which broaden the traditional

concept, like the right to social security; and

Proclaims the rights to education, to equal pay for

equal work, to an adequate standard of living and
to leisure, including periodic holidays with pay.
 Many groups and movements have managed to
th
achieve profound changes over the course of the 20
century in the name of human rights:

In Western Europe & North America, labour unions

brought about laws granting workers the right to strike,
establishing minimum work conditions and forbidding or
regulating child labor;

Women were granted the right to vote;

National liberation movements in many countries, like

that of Mahatma Gandhi of India, succeeded in driving
out colonial powers.

Racial and religious minorities, like civil rights movement,

also flourished in many parts of the world and freed
themselves from oppression.
 Human Rights in the
Philippines
During the Pre-Hispanic period, the system of
rights was founded on the customs of the
people and the prevailing law were the Codes of
Sumakwel and Kalantiaw;

During the Spanish period, the aspirations of the

Filipino people was freedom from colonialization,
non-discrimination and equality;

The 1st Republic or Malolos Government passed

the Malolos Constitution which provided for
those civil and political rights forught for by the
Katipuneros.
 During the American Occupation, they extended the
Bill of Rights under the American Constitution by
passing the Phil. Bill Act of 1902. It also provided
for a new system of land ownership which was
exploited by landed corporations. A new struggle
for socio-economic and cultural rights ensued.

The Commonwealth Government passed the 1935

Constitution which answered the longings for socio-
economic and cultural rights deprived by reason of
the Cooper Act of 1902. It also incorporated every
right in the Malolos and American Bill of Rights.
 After World War II, the Philippines was a pioneer member
of the United Nations and participated in the development
of the fundamental international laws of Human Rights
which include the following:

United Nations Charter

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Two International Covenants

On Civil and Political Rights

On Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Optional Protocols to the Covenants

 Under Martial Law, we had the 1973 Constitution. While
all the rights in the 1935 Constitution were enshrined, it
was watered down by Amendment No. 6.

The 1987 Constitution provides for, in addition to all those

rights in the 1935 Constitution, everything in Martial Rule
we do not want repeated such as no-to-torture and no-to-
solitary confinement.
 Philippine Experience, Ideas of
Known Nationalist Leaders

Andres Bonifacio

Bonifacio focuses more on the means by

which the people can attain their rights. He
emphasized the fact that reason tells us not
to waste time. . . We rely upon ourselves alone
and never entrust our life to anybody.

Clear in Bonifacios statement is the need for

people to act as one, and in one sense, he
stresses the need for self-determination,
especially against colonialism.
 Apolinario Mabini

Mabinis political thought was fundamentally based on the

simple (but all encompassing) idea of he dignity of man.
He stresses that man, in his need to preserve life, improve
and perfect it, needs to procure the indispensable means.
These means include liberty and mental and physical
freedom;

Mabini also stresses on the collective rights of men. He

states that purpose of man does not end in himself alone,
it has to spread to his fellowmen to bring about their
social, moral and economic development. Collectively, the
purpose of man . . . Is to obtain the highest well-being for
each and every member of society.
 Jose Wright Diokno

Diokno states that there are 2 national documents

that enumerates the rights of the Filipinos. The
Malolos and the 1935 constitutions (particularly the
bill of rights provisions in these constitution)

He does not include the 1973 Constitution because:

the 1973 constitution has no place in the list, not only

because of its doubtful parentage but also it contains
provisions on executive immunity, on the Presidents right to
enter into treaties or agreements disregarding the
constitutional requirement that natural resources be controlled
by the Filipino people; the provision validating martial law acts
and the provision granting the president the power to legislate.
Scope and Nature of
HUMAN RIGHTS
 General Forms of Human Rights Violation

According to UN Publication, 1984, common forms of

violations takes place in the following:

Situations which results from apartheid

All forms of racial discrimination

Colonialism

Foreign domination and occupation

Aggression & threats against national sovereignty

Fundamental socio-economic rights

Crimes against humanity like ethnic cleansing & geneocide

Who are the victims?

Children

Mentally retarded

Disabled

Ethnic/Cultural Minorities

Illegitimate Children

Aliens
 2-Rural / Urban /
Industrial
Victims of Human Rights Violations, Workers
3-Child / Minor /
1988-2000 Woman/Student
4-Military/Police
5-Local Ocials /
Employees
6-Detainee /
Prisoners
7-Urban Poor
8-Others

Victims
 1- Police
Alleged Perpetrators of Human Rights 2- Military
3- Paramilitary
Violations, 1988-2000 4- CPP/NPA
5- Civilian
6- Local Ocials
7- Others

Perpetrators
Nature of Human Rights
Inherent

Innate, natural, inborn in us. They are not granted by

any authority. They do not need any event for their
existence.

Fundamental

They are basic, essential, primary. Without them, the

life and the dignity of man will be meaningless.

Inalienable

They cannot be separated, transferred or taken

away from an individual. They cannot be given away
or forfeited.
Nature of Human Rights
Universal

Human rights belong to all people regardless of their sex,

race, color, language, national origin, age, class, religion,
or political beliefs.

Various international conferences have armed the

universality of human rights like:

UN International Conference on Human Rights, Teheran, Iran,

1968;

Asia-Pacific NGO Conference on Human Rights, 1993

World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, Austria, 1993

Indivisible

They cannot be divided and cannot be denied even when

other rights have already been enjoyed.
Nature of Human Rights
Inter-related & Interdependent

They become sources of other rights (e.g. from our

right to life springs our rights to clean air, right to
food, right to work, right to clothing, etc.)

Interdependence is embodied in various

international instruments, to wit:

Declaration on the Right to Development, UN General

Assembly, 1986

Vienna Declaration of 1993

Draft Asian Human Rights Charter (Proposed by Asian

Human Rights Commission

Imprescriptible

No time limit
 Scope of Human Rights is
Classified According to:

Individual Rights or Rights of Man

Collective Rights

According to Aspect of Life

According to Struggle for

Recognition

According to its Derogability

 Individual Rights or Rights of
Man
Right to Life Springs our Right to:
Health

Property

Work

Form trade unions & to strike

Social security

Rest and leisure

Move freely w/in ones country and freely to leave

and return to it

Marry

Establish a family & to exercise the rights of parents

 Individual Rights or Rights of
Man
Right to Dignity Source of our Rights to:

Recognition everywhere as a person

Honor and reputation

Freedom of thought, conscience, religion, opinion &

expression

Seek, receive and impart information

Peaceful assembly with our fellows

Equal treatment before the law

Privacy in our family, home & our correspondence

Freedom from slavery, torture and cruel, inhuman

and degrading punishment as well as from arbitrary
arrest, detention or exile

Presumed innocent of crime or wrong

Fair trial
 Individual Rights or Rights of
Man

Right to Self-Develop Source of our Rights to:

An education

Share in the cultural life of our community

Form associations with our fellows

Live in a nation and international order that allows our

rights to flower and be respected.
 Collective Rights

Right of People as People to Survive Springs the

peoples right to:
Peace
Non-aggression
Share in international trade
Receiving a just price for its products
Paying no more than is fair for the
products of other countries
 Collective Rights
Right of People to Self-Determination
Source of the peoples right to:
Sovereign equality in international aairs and
international organizations

Freedom from all forms of racial discriminations

Political independence & freedom from

colonialism, alien domination & intervention in
ones national aairs

Sovereignty over ones national resources and

over-all economic activities

Control activities of foreign investors &

transnational corporations

Free to choose and change ones political, social,

cultural and economic systems.
 Collective Rights
Right to Develop as a People
Implies the right freely to:
Choose the goals and means of development

Implement social and economic reforms that

ensure the participation of all the people in the
process and benefits of development

Share in scientific and technological advances

of the world

If a former colony, to reparation and retribution

for the exploitation to which one have been
subjected.
According to Aspect of Life
Civil Rights
Rights which the law will enforce at the
instance of private individuals for the
purpose of securing to them the enjoyment
of their means and happiness (i.e. right to
life, freedom of expression, etc.)

Political Rights
Rights which enable us to participate in
running the affairs of the government
either directly or indirectly (i.e. right to
vote, right to information on matters of
public concern, etc.)
According to Aspect of Life
Economic and Social Rights
Are those which the law confers upon the people
to enable them to achieve social and economic
development, thereby ensuring them their well-
being, happiness and financial security (i.e. right
to property, education and promotion of social
justice)
Cultural Rights
Those rights that ensure the well-being of the
individual and foster the preservation, enrichment
and dynamic evolution of national culture based
on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of
free artistic and intellectual expression.
 According to Struggle for
Recognition
First Generation of Human Rights
Covers civil and political rights. It conceives human rights
more on the negative (Freedom From . . .) as it favors the
abstention/non-interference rather than intervention of
government in the exercise of freedom for the quest of
human dignity.

Second Generation of Human Rights

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Conceives human
rights in positive terms (Right to . . .). It forwards
fundamental claims to social equity.

Third Generation of Human Rights

Collective Rights (i.e. Right to Development, Right to a
Healthy Environment)
 According to its
Derogability

Non-Derogable or Absolute
Rights

Those that cannot be suspended nor taken away nor

restricted/limited even in extreme emergency (i.e. right
not to be deprived of life arbitrarily, freedom from
torture, right to be recognized as a person, freedom of
conscience/thoughts)
 According to its
Derogability
Derogable/Relative/Not Absolute Rights
Those rights that can be suspended or restricted
(i.e. right to religion, right to move/travel).

But it has to satisfy 3 conditions in order to be

suspended/limited:

It is provided by law which is made known to every

citizen

There is a state of emergency which necessitates

the urgent preservation of public good, public safety
and public moral

It does not exceed what is strictly necessary to

achieve the purpose
 State Obligations

Who is responsible? What is the responsibility?

The STATE being a signatory of the various

international instruments on human rights have
the Principal State Obligation to take steps to the
maximum of its available resources towards
achieving progressively the full realization of
human rights by all appropriate mean
 State Obligations

Nature of State Obligation

Obligation of Conduct

The State must respect human rights limitations and
constraints on their scope of action.

Obligation of result

States are obliged to be active in their role as
protector and provider.
 State Obligations

Levels of State Obligations

Obligation to Respect
The State must abstain from doing anything that violates the integrity of
the individual or infringes on the individuals freedom. However, the
State has the corresponding duty to create and facilitate an economic,
social and political environment conducive to the enjoyment, exercise
and realization of human rights.

Obligation to Protect
Compels the State to take steps to prohibit others from violating
recognized rights and freedoms and to guarantee access to legal
remedies for any infringement caused by a third party.

Obligation to Fulfill (Facilitate and Provide)

The State should take the necessary measures to ensure that each
individual has the opportunity to obtain the entitlements of human
rights that cannot be secured by personal or individual eorts alone.