Some of the theories advanced as the sources of human rights as

explained in the book of Prof. Coquia:

I. ​Religious or theological approach ​– The focus is on the

doctrine of a Supreme Being, the creator and the Father of all
humanity. Central is the concept of the dignity of man as a
consequence of human rights, and therefore the rights are
universal, inalienable and cannot be denied by mortal beings (man).

II. ​Natural Law ​- The conduct of men must always conform to the
law of nature, and this theory is detached from religion. The natural
characteristics of human beings are the social impulse to live
peacefully and in harmony with others, and whatever conformed to
the nature of men was right and just. Whatever is disturbing to
social harmony is wrong and unjust.

III. ​Positivist theory ​– This theory states that all rights and authority
come from the state and what officials have promulgated, that rights
are enjoyed if recognized and protected by legislation promulgated
by the state.

IV. ​Marxist theory – ​This theory emphasizes the interest of society

over an individual's interest.

V. ​Functional or sociological approach ​- Human rights exist as a

means of social control, that human rights exist to serve the social
interests of society. This approach was developed in the early 20th
century when there were demands for a variety of wants, as help for
the unemployed, handicapped, underprivileged, minorities and other
disadvantaged groups.

VI. ​Utilitarian Theory ​– The principle requires governments to

maximize the total net sum of citizens. It emphasizes that an
individual cannot be more important than the entire group. An act is
good only when it takes into consideration the interests of the
society and tends to augment the happiness of the entire
community.

VII. ​Theory based on Justice ​- Each person has equal rights

vis-a-vis the whole system of liberties. The general conception of
justice is one of fairness and those social primary goods such as
opportunity, income and wealth and self-respect are to be
distributed equally.

VIII. ​Theory based on Equality and Respect ​– The government

must treat all their citizens equally, and must intervene in order to
advance the general welfare.
IX. ​Theory based on the Dignity of man ​- This theory proceeds
from the premise that human rights mean sharing values of all
identified policies upon which human rights depend on. The ultimate
goal of this theory is a world community where there is democratic
sharing and distribution of values. All available resources are
utilized to the maximum and the protection of human dignity is
recognized. This is better referred to as policy science approach