Human Rights

and UNO
Unit - 4
What are Human Rights?
• Human Rights are rights inherent to all human beings
regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language
and religion.
• Human rights include freedom from slavery and
torture, freedom of opinion and expression and fair
trial, the right to life work and education
Where do Human Rights come from?
A set of basic rights and freedoms has deep roots in European and
American countries.
a. Written Precursors of Human Rights Documents
• The Magna Carta of 1215(England) – gave people new rights and
made the king subject to the law.
• The Petition of Right 1628(England) – set out the rights of the
people.
• The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679(England) – an act for the better
securing liberty of the subject.
• The English Bill of Rights of 1689 – set out certain basic civil rights.
• The French Declaration on the Rights of Man and Citizen 1789 – a
document of France, stating that all citizens are equal under the law.
• The US Constitution and Bill of Rights 1791 - safeguards the rights of
the citize
b. The Birth of United Nations
The idea of human rights emerged stronger after the Second World War.
This War led to unimaginable violation of human rights. During the times
of war, human lives lost its value and those affected by war had to
struggle till the end of their life. Atrocities during the Second World War
made clear that previous efforts to protect individual rights from
government violations were inadequate. The rights of man were
prevented or eliminated in several parts of the world due to several
factors. It is proved that the government of some countries alone could
not protect human rights. People wanted to ensure that never again
would anyone be unjustly denied life, freedom, food, shelter, and
nationality. These voices played a critical role in the San Francisco
meeting in which the United Nations Charter was drafted in 1945. At this
juncture, an International body, the United Nations Organisation (UNO)
which was established on 24th October 1945 took up the issue. Human
Rights is an important theme in all UN policies and programmes in the
areas of peace and security, development, humanitarian assistance and
economic and social affairs.
 c. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
One of the greatest achievements of United Nations is the creation of
human rights law. To advance this goal, the UN established a
Commission on Human Rights. The Commission guided by Eleanor
Roosevelt’s (wife of former US president Franklin D Roosevelt)
forceful leadership captured the world’s attention. Finally, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the
UN General Assembly in 1948. It is a milestone document in the
history of Human rights. The Declaration was proclaimed by the UN
General Assembly in Paris, France on 10th December 1948(General
Assembly resolution 217A). In remembrance of every year 10th
December is observed as the Human Rights Day and its regular
observance commenced from 1950. It is also known as modern
International Magna Carta of Human Rights. Its principles have been
incorporated into the Constitutions of most of the (more than 185)
nations. UDHR has been translated into more than 500 languages. It is
the most translated document in the world
Human Rights are based on the values of

a. Dignity – The right to life, the right to integrity, the

prohibition of enforced labour, slavery and degrading
punishment.
b. Justice – The right to fair trial, proportional
punishment to crime, the right not to be trialed more
than once for the same crime
c. Equality – Equality before law. No discrimination on
race, religion, gender, age, ability/disability etc.
Basic Characteristics of Human Rights

• Inherent – they are not granted by any person or authority.

• Fundamental – they are fundamental rights because without
them, the life and dignity of man will be meaningless
• Inalienable – they cannot be taken away from the individual.
• Indivisible– they can’t be denied even when other rights
have already been enjoyed .
• Universal- they are universal. They apply irrespective of one’s
origin or status. They are enforceable without national
border.
• Interdependent - they are interdependent because the
fulfillment or exercise of one human right cannot be had
without the realization of the other
Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually on 10th
December every year. It is to honour the United Nations
General Assembly for declaring the human rights
universally
Kinds of Human Rights
• There are 30 Articles incorporated in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
• These rights are broadly classified into Five primary
categories. They are as follows
a. Civil Rights
b. Political Rights
c. Social Rights
d. Economic Rights
e. Cultural Rights
a. Civil Rights
• The term civil rights refers to the basic rights afforded
by laws of the government to every person.
• This is the right to be treated as an equal to anyone
else.
• It includes the rights to life, liberty, freedom from
slavery and arbitrary arrest.
b. Political Rights
• Political rights are exercised in the formation and
administration of a government.
• The Civil and Political rights are directly related to
modern democracy. They protect the individual from
the misuse of political power and recognise every
individual’s right to participate in their country’s
political process.
• It includes the freedom of expression, and peaceful
assembly, the right to take part in the government of
one’s country, the right to vote, the freedom of speech
and obtain information.
c. Social Rights
• It is necessary for an individual to fully participate in
the society.
• Social rights are those rights necessary for an adequate
standard of living including the right to education,
health care, food, clothing, shelter and social security.
d. Economic Rights
• The right to participate in an economy that benefits all
and to desirable work.
• Economic rights guarantee every person to have
condition under which they are able to meet their
needs.
• This includes the rights to employment and fair wage,
the reasonable limitation of working hours, shelter,
education and adequate standard of living, and the
right to property
e. Cultural Rights
• The right to freedom of religion and to speak the
language and to practice the cultural life of the
community, the right to share in scientific
advancement, and right to the protection of moral and
material interest.
The Difference between Human Rights and
Civil Rights
Human Rights Commission
• The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a principal
organ of the United Nations was empowered to setup a
commission for the promotion of human rights.
• National level and State level human rights
commissions were established to ensure the protection
of human rights.
a. National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC)
• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India was
established on 12th October, 1993.
• It is an independent statutory, and non-constitutional body.
Its headquarter is located in New Delhi.
• NHRC is a multimember body which consists
of a Chairperson and other members.
• The President appoints the Chairperson and other members.
They are appointed for 5 years or till the age of 70 years
whichever is earlier.
• NHRC has five divisions. Law Division, Investigation Division,
Policy Research & Programmes Division, Training Division and
Administrative Division.
• The National Human Rights Commission is responsible for
the protection and promotion of human rights in India
b. State Human Rights
Commission (SHRC)
• The State Human Rights Commission of Tamil Nadu was
formed on 17th April, 1997.
• It functions at the state level.
• It consists of three members including a Chairperson.
• A state Human Rights Commission can inquire into
violation of human rights related to subjects covered
under State list and Concurrent list in the seventh
schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• (not if NHRC already enquiring)
 Human Rights Organisations
• Many organisations around the world have taken their
efforts to protect human rights and for ending human
rights abuses.
• These Nongovernmental organisations monitor the
actions of governments and pressure them to act
according to human right principles.
• Some of these organaisations are Amnesty
International, Children’s Defense Fund, Human Rights
Watch.
 Child Rights
According to Article 1 of the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child 1989, 'a child means every
human being below the age of eighteen years'. The
Convention on the Rights of the Child was proclaimed by
UN on 20th November 1989. The child is considered as
an important national asset. The future of a nation
depends on how its children mature and develop. So
protection of children from all kinds of exploitation and
abuses has become the main objective of our society.
There are laws in India protecting the rights of the
children.
a. Right to Education Act
Article 21A provides that the state shall provide free and
compulsory education to all children aged six to fourteen
years.
b. The Child Labour Act (Prohibition and Regulation Act 1986)
It provides no child who has not completed 15 years of age
can be employed
c. The Juvenile Justice Act 2000 (Care and Protection of
Children)
This Act tries to protect children deprived of adequate care
and to reform the children by adopting child friendly
approach.
d. POCSO Act 2012
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act regards the
best interest of the child as being paramount importance in
every state.
 Indian Constitution Article24
Indian Constitution Article24 - prohibits child labour.
39(f) - provides for children to develop in healthy
manner.
45 – provides that the state shall endeavor to
provide early childhood care and education for all
children until they complete the age of six years.
 1098 Child Line
This is India’s first 24 hours’ free emergency phone
service for children in need of assistance. Special care is
given for vulnerable children those affected by child
labour, child marriage and children affected by any abuse
 Women Rights
• Women and girl’s rights are human rights. Women are entitled to the
full and equal enjoyment of all of their human rights and to be free
from all forms of discrimination. This is fundamental to achieve
human rights, peace and security and sustainable development. The
Charter of the United Nations guarantees equal rights to both women
and men.
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General
Assembly, is described as an International bill of rights for women.
• In 1995 the Fourth World Conference of Women, held in Beijing,
developed a Platform for Action to recognise women’s rights and
improve women’s livelihood worldwide, and follow-up meetings
monitored progress towards meeting these goals.
• The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), has
worked since 1995 to implement the Beijing Platform for Action. Only
when women and girls have full access to their rights will true equality
exist.
Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen
Act 2007
This Act makes it legal obligation for children and heirs
to provide maintenance to senior citizens and parents.
Protection and support during old age are envisaged as
human rights.
 Conclusion
• Human rights are about equality and fairness for
everyone and it ensures that everyone is treated with
dignity and respect.
• The protection of human right is everyone’s
responsibility.
• An understanding and respect for human rights
provides the foundation for peace, harmony, security
and freedom in our community.
Legislations and their Provisions
 The Cyrus Cylinder 539 BC (BCE)
Cyrus the Great, the first king of ancient Persia, freed the
slaves and declared that all people had the right to
choose their own religion and established racial equality.
These and other decrees were recorded on a bakedclay
cylinder in the Akkadian language in cuneiform script. It
is translated into all six official languages of the United
Nations and its provisions parallel the first four Articles of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Thank You
Prepared by S.pandi
Mind Map