Seminar on Importance of Human Rights 2022

Contents
1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................................1
What are Human Rights?.........................................................................................................................1
1.1 The Basic Human Rights.....................................................................................................................1
1.2 What do human rights cover?...........................................................................................................2
1.3 Where do human rights come from?..................................................................................................3
1.4 The development of modern human rights.......................................................................................3
1.5 Why are human rights important(Importance of Human Rights)?......................................................4
2. Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................5
References...................................................................................................................................................6

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 Seminar on Importance of Human Rights 2022
1. Introduction
What are Human Rights?
 Every person has dignity and value. One of the ways that we recognise the fundamental worth of
every person is by acknowledging and respecting their human rights.

Human rights are a set of principles concerned with equality and fairness. They recognise our
freedom to make choices about our lives and to develop our potential as human beings. They are
about living a life free from fear, harassment or discrimination.

Human rights can broadly be defined as a number of basic rights that people from around the
world have agreed are essential. These include the right to life, the right to a fair trial, freedom
from torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and
the rights to health, education and an adequate standard of living.

These human rights are the same for all people everywhere – men and women, young and old,
rich and poor, regardless of our background, where we live, what we think or what we believe.
This is what makes human rights ‘universal’.

Human rights are the basic fundamental rights that we, as humans, are entitled to. Human rights
mark everyone as free and equal, irrespective of age, gender, caste, creed, religion and
nationality. The United Nations adopted human rights in light of the atrocities people faced
during the second world war. On the 10th of December 1948, the U.N. General Assembly
adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Its adoption led to recognising
human rights as the foundation for freedom, justice and peace for every individual. Although it’s
not legally binding, most nations have incorporated these human rights into their constitutions
and domestic legal frameworks. Human rights safeguard us from discrimination and guarantee
that our most basic needs are protected.

1.1 The Basic Human Rights

Before we move on to the essays on human rights, let’s understand the basics of what they are.

 Right to Life
 Right to Freedom from Torture

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 Right to Equal Treatment
 Right to Privacy
 Right to Asylum
 Right to Marry
 Right to Freedom of Thought, Opinion and Expression
 Right to Work
 Right to Education
 Right to Social Service

1.2 What do human rights cover?

Human rights cover virtually every area of human activity.

They include civil and political rights, which refer to a person’s rights to take part in the civil
and political life of their community without discrimination or oppression. These include rights
and freedoms such as the right to vote, the right to privacy, freedom of speech and freedom from
torture.The right to vote and take part in choosing a government is a civil and political right.

They also include economic, social and cultural rights, which relate to a person’s rights to
prosper and grow and to take part in social and cultural activities. This group includes rights such
as the right to health, the right to education and the right to worth

The right to education is an example of an economic, social and cultural right.

One of the main differences between these two groups of rights is that, in the case of civil and
political rights, governments must make sure that they, or any other group, are not denying
people access to their rights, whereas in relation to economic, social and cultural rights,
governments must take active steps to ensure rights are being fulfilled. 

As well as belonging to every individual, there are some rights that also belong to groups of
people. This is often in recognition of the fact that these groups have been disadvantaged and
marginalised throughout history and consequently need greater protection of their rights. These
rights are called collective rights. For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
possess collective rights to their ancestral lands, which are known as native title rights. 

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1.3 Where do human rights come from?
They contributed to the laws of Greek and Roman society and are central to Buddhist, Christian,
Confucian, Hindu, Islamic and Jewish teachings.
Concepts of ethics, justice and dignity were also important in societies which have not left
written records, but consist of oral histories such as those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people in Australia and other indigenous societies elsewhere. 

Ideas about justice were prominent in the thinking of philosophers in the Middle Ages, the
Renaissance and the Enlightenment. An important strand in this thinking was that there was a
'natural law' that stood above the law of rulers. This meant that individuals had certain rights
simply because they were human beings.

In 1215, the English barons forced the King of England to sign Magna Carta (which is Latin for
‘the Great Charter’). Magna Carta was the first document to place limits on the absolute power
of the king and make him accountable to his subjects. It also laid out some basic rights for the
protection of citizens, such as the right to a trial.

Significant development in thinking about human rights took place in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, during a time of revolution and emerging national identities. 

1.4 The development of modern human rights

The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw continuing advances in social progress, for
example, in the abolition of slavery, the widespread provision of education and the extension of
political rights. Despite these advances, international activity on human rights remained weak.
The general attitude was that nations could do what they liked within their borders and that other
countries and the broader international community had no basis for intervening or even raising
concerns when rights were violated. 

This is expressed in the term ‘state sovereignty’, which refers to the idea that whoever has the
political authority within a country has the power to rule and pass laws over that territory.
Importantly, countries agree to mutually recognise this sovereignty. In doing so, they agree to
refrain from interfering in the internal or external affairs of other sovereign states. 

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1.5 Why are human rights important(Importance of Human Rights)?
In recent decades, there has been a tremendous growth in how we think about and apply
human rights ideas. This has had many positive results - knowledge about human rights can
empower individuals and offer solutions for specific problems. 

Human rights are an important part of how people interact with others at all levels in society
- in the family, the community, schools, the workplace, in politics and in international
relations. It is vital therefore that people everywhere should strive to understand what human
rights are. When people better understand human rights, it is easier for them to promote
justice and the well-being of society

Human rights are of utmost importance to seek basic equality and human dignity. Human
rights ensure that the basic needs of every human are met. They protect vulnerable groups
from discrimination and abuse, allow people to stand up for themselves, follow any religion
without fear and give them the freedom to express their thoughts freely. In addition, they
grant people access to basic education and equal work opportunities. Thus implementing
these rights is crucial to ensure freedom, peace and safety.

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2. Conclusion

There were recurring issues brought up by all groups and participants. Especially the critical
importance of academic freedom, without which human rights education and training will be
constrained, and learning and sharing will be more or less impossible. Democratic space is one
of the pre-conditions for the promotion of human rights and human rights education. The current
trend in Asia and Europe is somewhat worrying as we witness the transition from democracy,
rather than to democracy. The world is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA).
This is the world that HRE must respond to.

What was also highlighted throughout the forum, is the connection between human rights
education, training and the right to education. Access to education is an essential part of human
rights education. Like human rights, human rights education is universal, indivisible and
inalienable. Human rights education is not only a mission of governments and the whole society
but represents a collective vision of a good society that we all envision.

The seminar reminded us that human rights education is not just a product of teaching, but a
process of learning about, through and for human rights. It is not just about gaining knowledge
and understanding of human rights, but it is also about learning to respect the human rights of
others. It is also about empowering individuals to exercise their rights, which also includes
respecting other people’s rights. It contributes to fostering attitudes and behaviours needed to
uphold human rights for all members of society.

In any case, human rights education and training are not a quick fix but have to be framed in
such a way that they are acceptable to different contexts whilst keeping in mind their universal
character and value. Existing experiences found in the two regions should be multiplied and
shared. While building national ownership of human rights education and training is
recommended, multi-stakeholder engagement and regional and cross-regional cooperation is
encouraged.

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References
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by International Agencies.” The American Journal of International Law 74, no. 2 (1980): 308-
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Groome, Dermot. The Handbook of Human Rights Investigation. Human Rights Press, 2000.

Larson, Egon. A Flame in Barbed Wire:  The Story of Amnesty International.  New York:  F.
Mueller, 1978.  (Note: Includes description of research missions carried out in AI’s early years.)

McClintock, Michael.  “Establishing Accountability for State Violence.”  In Human Rights in the
Twenty-First Century:  A Global Challenge, edited by Kathleen Mahoney.  Martinus Nijhoff,
1993.

McClintock, Michael.  “Tensions Between Assistance and Protection:  A Human Rights

Perspective(opens in a new tab)(PDF document).”  In Humanitarian Action:  A Transatlantic
Agenda for Operations and Research, edited by Larry Minear and Thomas G. Weiss.
Occasional Paper #39, Watson Institute, Brown University, 2000.

Orentlicher, Diane F. “Bearing Witness: The Art and Science of Human Rights Fact-Finding.”
Harvard Human Rights Journal 3 (1990): 83-135.

Weissbrodt, David and James McCarthy. “Fact-finding by International Non-governmental

Human Rights Organizations.” Virginia Journal of International Law, 22 (1981).

Weissbrodt, David.  “Book Review.  Human Rights Missions: A Study of the Fact-Finding
Practice of Non-Governmental Organizations by Hans Thoolen and Berth Verstappen.”  Human
Rights Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Feb., 1988):  134-137.
(Note: Introduces volume by Thoolen and Verstappen and also provides brief literature review
on human rights research methodology.)

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