Meaning of Human Rights

 The Term "Human Rights" denotes all those rights which are inherent in their nature and
without which we cannot live as human beings. The Human Rights being eternal part of the
nature of human beings are essential for the development of individual personality and human
qualities, the intelligence, talent and consciences and to enable them to satisfy the spiritual and
other higher demands.

Human Rights are derived from the principle of Natural Law. They are neither derived from the
social order nor conferred upon the individual by the society.
Human rights are the rights that a human being has in virtue of whatever characteristics he has
that are both specifically and universally human.

The human rights are classified into three categories which include Human Rights incorporated
in the International Convent on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, the International Covenant on
Economic Social and Cultural Rights 1966 and Collective Rights 1966. 

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

The origin and development of Human Rights has been on two bases, the first is the National and
the second is International.

On the National base, the conception of human rights got its breed to originate and develop in the
form of religion in different countries and in different times. The conception may be felt to
originate in the ideas of Mercy, Kindness and Pity on human beings in various scriptures.
        The origin of human rights can be traced back to the times of Ancient Greece. In Antigone,
A Greek play, human rights are recognized as the natural rights of man.

(b) After the First War – 

After the First World War was over, some attempts were made to promote and universalizes
Human Rights. The Treaty of Versailles was entered into but it did not have any impact.  This
Treaty was entered into because it was felt that the rights of individuals must be protected against
violation by one's own country. A private organization, Institute of International Law, took steps
to formulate the provisions of Human Rights.

(c) After Second World War – 

During the Second World War the world had seen the horror of War and unleashing of nuclear
weapons made future wars seem much more dangerous and dreadful. Development to become an
important Agenda of the post Second World War International community.
 At the San Francisco conference held on 25th  26th June 1945, the charter of the United Nations
was finalized.  In this charter, there were incorporated numerous provision relating to the
protection and promotion of Human Rights.

The Universal Declaration of Human rights was adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly on 10th December 1948. This paved the way for the preparation of other documents
on human rights like International Covenant on civil and political rights,1966, and the
International Covenant on economic social and cultural rights 1966.

SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

A) International Custom-
-Customary international law plays a crucial role in international human rights law.

- Customary law is binding on all states (except those that may have objected to it during its
formation), whether or not they have ratified any relevant treaty.

-One of the important features of customary international law is that customary law may,
under certain circumstances, lead to universal jurisdiction or application, so that any national
court may hear extra-territorial claims brought under international law.

-Many scholars argue that some standards laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (which in formal terms is only a resolution of the UNGA and as such not legally
binding) have become part of customary international law as a result of subsequent practice;
therefore they would be binding upon all states. Within the realm of human rights law the
distinction between concepts of customary law, treaty law, and general principles of law are
often unclear.

B) International conventions-

-International treaties are contracts signed between states. They are legally binding and impose
mutual obligations on the states that are party to any particular treaty (states parties). The main
particularity of human rights treaties is that they impose obligations on states about the manner
in which they treat all individuals within their jurisdiction.

-Even though the sources of international law are not hierarchical, treaties have some degree of
primacy. Nowadays, more than forty major international conventions for the protection of human
rights have been adopted. International human rights treaties bear various titles, including
‘covenant’, ‘convention’ and ‘protocol’; but what they have in common are the explicit
indication of states parties to be bound by their terms.

-Human rights had already found expression in the Covenant of the League of Nations, which
led, inter alia, to the creation of the International Labour Organisation.
-The UDHR, adopted by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA),
although not a treaty, is the earliest comprehensive human rights instrument adopted by the
international community. 

C) General Principle

In the application of both national and international law, general or guiding principles are used.
In international law, they have been defined as ‘logical propositions resulting from judicial
reasoning on the basis of existing pieces of international law’. At the international level, general
principles of law occupy an important place in case-law regarding human rights. 

General principles of law play two important roles: on the one hand, they provide guidelines for
judges, in particular, in deciding in individual cases; on the other hand, they limit the
discretionary power of judges and of members of the executive in their decisions in individual
cases.

RIGHT TO INFORMATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The existence of a right of access to government information is increasingly accepted around the
world, both at the domestic and international levels. At the domestic level, a right to information
is to be found in a growing number of constitutions and since the early 1990s there has been a
huge upsurge in the number of states adopting Freedom of Information laws. Internationally, the
existence of a right of access to information is frequently articulated in international human
rights documents; the first ever international convention on access to information has been
adopted; and human rights enforcement bodies, both regional and global, have interpreted
existing human rights treaties as protecting a right to information in a range of contexts.

The focus of this article will be on the recognition of a right to information at international level.
The right to information has been most commonly recognised by international human rights
treaty bodies as coming within the scope of the right to freedom of expression though such
bodies have, on occasion, based their recognition of a right to information on the enjoyment of
other rights such as: the right to respect for private life; the right to a fair trial; the right to life;
social and economic rights; and the right to take part in public affairs. One of the themes
explored in this article is that of the implications of the adoption by the treaty monitoring bodies
of an instrumentalist approach to the recognition of the right to information. The development of
a right to information in the context of the realisation of other rights will be considered and the
article will argue that basing the recognition of a right to information on the furtherance of other
rights may operate to limit the development of the right to information and may even have
negative connotations in terms of the enjoyment of such other rights.

Article 21 enshrine ‘right to life and a person liberty’ are compendious term which include
within themselves variety of right and attributes. Some of them are also found in article 19 and
thus have two sources at the same time. In R.P Ltd v Indian express newspaper the SC reads
right to know in article 21. The SC held that right to know is a necessary ingredient of
participatory democracy. In view of translational development when distance is shrinking
international communities are coming together for cooperation in various sphere and they are
moving toward the global preparative in various field including human right ,the expression
liberty must receive and expanded meaning . The Supreme Court is limited mere absence of
bodily restrain. It is wide enough to expand full range of right to hold a particular opinion and
right to sustain and nurture that opinion Article 21 confer on all person a right to know which
include right to receive information. The ambit and scope of article 21 is much wider as
compared to article 19(1)(a).

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

GENEVA (15 September 2021) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet
on Wednesday stressed the urgent need  for a moratorium on the sale and use of artificial
intelligence (AI) systems that pose a serious risk to human rights until adequate safeguards are
put in place. She also called for AI applications that cannot be used in compliance with
international human rights law to be banned.

“Artificial intelligence can be a force for good, helping societies overcome some of the great
challenges of our times. But AI technologies can have negative, even catastrophic, effects if they
are used without sufficient regard to how they affect people’s human rights,” Bachelet said.

How AI – including profiling, automated decision-making and other machine-learning

technologies – affects people’s right to privacy and other rights, including the rights to health,
education, freedom of movement, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of
expression.

“Artificial intelligence now reaches into almost every corner of our physical and mental lives and
even emotional states. AI systems are used to determine who gets public services, decide who
has a chance to be recruited for a job, and of course they affect what information people see and
can share online,” the High Commissioner said.

The report looks at how States and businesses alike have often rushed to incorporate AI
applications, failing to carry out due diligence. There have already been numerous cases of
people being treated unjustly because of AI, such as being denied social security benefits
because of faulty AI tools or arrested because of flawed facial recognition.

The report details how AI systems rely on large data sets, with information about individuals
collected, shared, merged and analysed in multiple and often opaque ways. The data used to
inform and guide AI systems can be faulty, discriminatory, out of date or irrelevant. Long-term
storage of data also poses particular risks, as data could in the future be exploited in as yet
unknown ways. 

“Given the rapid and continuous growth of AI, filling the immense accountability gap in how
data is collected, stored, shared and used is one of the most urgent human rights questions we
face,” Bachelet said.

The inferences, predictions and monitoring performed by AI tools, including seeking insights
into patterns of human behaviour, also raise serious questions. The biased datasets relied on by
AI systems can lead to discriminatory decisions, and these risks are most acute for already
marginalized groups. 

“The risk of discrimination linked to AI-driven decisions – decisions that can change, define or
damage human lives – is all too real. This is why there needs to be systematic assessment and
monitoring of the effects of AI systems to identify and mitigate human rights risks,” Bachelet
said.

There also needs to be much greater transparency by companies and States in how they are
developing and using AI.
“The complexity of the data environment, algorithms and models underlying the development
and operation of AI systems, as well as intentional secrecy of government and private actors are
factors undermining meaningful ways for the public to understand the effects of AI systems on
human rights and society,” the report says.

“We cannot afford to continue playing catch-up regarding AI – allowing its use with limited or
no boundaries or oversight, and dealing with the almost inevitable human rights consequences
after the fact. The power of AI to serve people is undeniable, but so is AI’s ability to feed human
rights violations at an enormous scale with virtually no visibility. Action is needed now to put
human rights guardrails on the use of AI, for the good of all of us,” Bachelet stressed.

Ensuring that human rights are strengthened and not undermined by artificial intelligence (AI) is
one of the key factors that will define the world we live in. AI-driven technology is entering
more aspects of every individual’s life, from smart home appliances to social media applications,
and it is increasingly being utilised by public authorities to evaluate people’s personality or
skills, allocate resources, and otherwise make decisions that can have real and serious
consequences for the human rights of individuals. Finding the right balance between
technological development and human rights protection is therefore an urgent matter.

The Commissioner raises awareness of the human rights implications of AI systems in her
dialogue with national authorities but also with national human rights structures and AI actors in
general, so that all those involved directly or indirectly in the development or application of AI
systems have the necessary knowledge and understanding about AI impact on human rights to
take action. She also provides guidance on the way in which the negative impact of AI systems
on human rights can be prevented or mitigated. The Commissioner’s work is based on existing
standards and builds on work done in this area by the Council of Europe and other international
organisations.

ENVIRONMENTAL & ANIMAL RIGHTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The animals should no longer be viewed as property or used for experiments, for bleeding and
killing and no animals for food or clothes or medicine, or use as beasts of burden or selective
breeding for any reason other than the benefit of the animal, no hunting and no zoos or use of
animals in entertainment. In all the culture and religions around the world, it espouses the animal
rights. Buying, selling, breeding, confining and killing animals infringes on the animal rights.
The animal right is also a claim for animal welfare to apply physically. 

Everywhere, now zoos are closing down or busy on releasing animals to Parks and sanctuaries
while turning themselves into research institutions devoted to endangered species. And in the
developed world at least, national parks and sanctuaries already hold quasi-sacred status.

People are not asking for animals to have the same rights as humans but the animals should have
the right to live free from human use and exploitation. As per the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the human rights include, "the right to life, liberty and security of
person…an adequate standard of living...to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from
persecution...to own property...freedom of opinion and expression...to education...of thought,
conscience and religion; and the right to freedom from torture and degrading treatment, among
others."

These rights are different from animal rights because the humans have the right to access to food
and housing and are free from torture and can have the expression but it is not in our hand to
ensure the nest for every bird and an acorn for every squirrel. The animal rights are leaving the
animals alone to live at their own, without encroaching upon their world or their lives. It is
statistically demonstrated that those who abuse animals are more likely to abuse the other human
beings also.

The Humane Society cited on a survey that 71 percent of domestic violence victims said their
abuser also targeted to the pets.

In 2014, the Supreme Court of India passed a precedent decision extending the mantle of Article
21 of the constitution, which protects human life and liberty to all animals, the court said, the
animals have an inalienable right to live in a healthy and clean atmosphere, not to be beaten,
kicked, bitten, tortured, plied with alcohol by humans or made to stand in narrow enclosures
amidst bellows and jeers from crowds.
In Argentina two years later, a chimpanzee named Cecilia, confined alone in a concrete
enclosure in a zoo in Mendoza, was sent to a Brazilian sanctuary after a judge declared for her
fundamental right to be born, to live, grow, and die in the proper environment for the species. In
July, a Colombian judge, citing the Argentinean precedent, set free an Andean spectacled bear.
In the past four years, after longstanding negotiations between indigenous Maori people and the
government, New Zealand has allow the Te-Urewera, a national park, making it, the first place
on earth where humans have relinquished control.

There is no gilding the lily, in either direction, towards rights for nature or continued human
supremacy. Humans annually kill 100 billion animals, domestic and wild—an average of 14
animals per person and continue to wreak the havoc on the habitats of the survivors. The planet’s
sixth great extinction now rolls on. In India, four species of fauna and 18 species of flora have
gone to extinct in the past few centuries. India luckily with 2.8% of geographical area supports
about 6.49% of all the fauna species in the world.

As per the Living Planet Report 2016, the factors like competition, predation, natural selection
and human induced factors like hunting, habitat degradation have led to nearly extinctions of half
of our wildlife making India an ecological black spot. It also said that global wildlife populations
are decline.by 67% between 1970–2020 and other population of fish, birds, mammals,
amphibians and reptiles has already also declined by 58%. The country lost 110 tigers and 491
leopards in 2019, a third of them to poaching as per the Wildlife Protection Society of India
(WPSI).

All human beings depend on the environment in which we live. A safe, clean, healthy and
sustainable environment is integral to the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights,
including the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation.

Without a healthy environment, we are unable to fulfil our aspirations. We may not have access
to even the minimum standards of human dignity.

Protecting human rights protects the environment

In recent years, the recognition of the links between human rights and the environment has
greatly increased. The number and scope of international and domestic laws, judicial decisions,
and academic studies on the relationship between human rights and the environment are growing
rapidly.

The human rights and the environment mandate, created in March 2012 and extended in 2018,
examines the human rights obligations as they relate to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable
environment. It also promotes best practices relating to the use of human rights in environmental
policymaking.

Many States now incorporate a right to a healthy environment in their constitutions. Yet many
questions about the relationship of human rights and the environment remain unanswered and
require further examination.

RIGHTS OF TRANSGENDER

https://blog.ipleaders.in/legal-rights-of-transgender-india/
 UNIT 2
CONVENTION ON CHILD RIGHTS-

 the United Nations has, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International
Covenants on Human Rights, proclaimed and agreed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and
freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,

Recalling that, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations has proclaimed
that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance,

Convinced that the family, as the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for
the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children, should be afforded the
necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibilities within the
community,

Recognizing that the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality,
should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding,

Considering that the child should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society, and
brought up in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, and in
particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity,

Bearing in mind that the need to extend particular care to the child has been stated in the Geneva
Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1924 and in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child
adopted by the General Assembly on 20 November 1959 and recognized in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (in
particular in articles 23 and 24), in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (in particular in article 10) and in the statutes and relevant instruments of specialized
agencies and international organizations concerned with the welfare of children,

Bearing in mind that, as indicated in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, "the child, by
reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including
appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth",

Article 2

1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each
child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his
or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.

2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against
all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed
opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members.

Article 3

1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare
institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the
child shall be a primary consideration.

2. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or
her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents, legal guardians, or
other individuals legally responsible for him or her, and, to this end, shall take all appropriate
legislative and administrative measures.
3. States Parties shall ensure that the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care
or protection of children shall conform with the standards established by competent authorities,
particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the number and suitability of their staff, as well as
competent supervision.

Article 6

1. States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life.

2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the
child.

Article 9

1. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against
their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance
with applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the
child. Such determination may be necessary in a particular case such as one involving abuse or
neglect of the child by the parents, or one where the parents are living separately and a decision
must be made as to the child's place of residence.

2. In any proceedings pursuant to paragraph 1 of the present article, all interested parties shall be
given an opportunity to participate in the proceedings and make their views known.

3. States Parties shall respect the right of the child who is separated from one or both parents to
maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis, except if it is
contrary to the child's best interests.

4. Where such separation results from any action initiated by a State Party, such as the detention,
imprisonment, exile, deportation or death (including death arising from any cause while the
person is in the custody of the State) of one or both parents or of the child, that State Party shall,
upon request, provide the parents, the child or, if appropriate, another member of the family with
the essential information concerning the whereabouts of the absent member(s) of the family
unless the provision of the information would be detrimental to the well-being of the child. States
Parties shall further ensure that the submission of such a request shall of itself entail no adverse
consequences for the person(s) concerned.

Article 12

1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right
to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given
due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.

2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any
judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a
representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of
national law.

UDHR

The General Assembly,

Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for
all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping
this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for
these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their
universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States
themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction. 

Article 25

1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of
himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and
necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment,
sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances
beyond his control.

2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children,
whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

This article reflected in the preamble of CRC.

ICCPR

Preamble

The States Parties to the present Covenant,

Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United
Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person,

Article 23
1. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by
society and the State.

2. The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to found a family shall be
recognized.

3. No marriage shall be entered into without the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

4. States Parties to the present Covenant shall take appropriate steps to ensure equality of rights
and responsibilities of spouses as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. In the case
of dissolution, provision shall be made for the necessary protection of any children.

Article 24

1. Every child shall have, without any discrimination as to race, colour, sex, language, religion,
national or social origin, property or birth, the right to such measures of protection as are
required by his status as a minor, on the part of his family, society and the State.

2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have a name.

3. Every child has the right to acquire a nationality.

Article 15 Constitution Of India 1949

15. Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth

(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste,
sex, place of birth or any of them

(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them,
be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to

(a) access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and palaces of public entertainment; or

(b) the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or
partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public

(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women
and children

(4) Nothing in this article or in clause ( 2 ) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any
special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of
citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes

ICESCR
Considering the obligation of States under the Charter of the United Nations to promote
universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and freedoms,

Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals and to the community to which
he belongs, is under a responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of the rights
recognized in the present Covenant,

Article 10

The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that:

1. The widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to the family, which is the
natural and fundamental group unit of society, particularly for its establishment and while it is
responsible for the care and education of dependent children. Marriage must be entered into with
the free consent of the intending spouses.

2. Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable period before and after
childbirth. During such period working mothers should be accorded paid leave or leave with
adequate social security benefits.

3. Special measures of protection and assistance should be taken on behalf of all children and
young persons without any discrimination for reasons of parentage or other conditions. Children
and young persons should be protected from economic and social exploitation. Their
employment in work harmful to their morals or health or dangerous to life or likely to hamper
their normal development should be punishable by law. States should also set age limits below
which the paid employment of child labour should be prohibited and punishable by law.

American convention

Article 27 Suspension of Guarantees

1. In time of war, public danger, or other emergency that threatens the independence or security
of a State Party, it may take measures derogating from its obligations under the present
Convention to the extent and for the period of time strictly required by the exigencies of the
situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with its other obligations under
international law and do not involve discrimination on the ground of race, color, sex, language,
religion, or social origin.

2. The foregoing provision does not authorize any suspension of the following articles: Article 3
(Right to Juridical Personality), Article 4 (Right to Life), Article 5 (Right to Humane Treatment),
Article 6 (Freedom from Slavery), Article 9 (Freedom from Ex Post Facto Laws), Article 12
(Freedom of Conscience and Religion), Article 17 (Rights of the Family), Article 18 (Right to a
Name), Article 19 (Rights of the Child), Article 20 (Right to Nationality), and Article 23 (Right
to 160 Documents Participate in Government), or of the judicial guarantees essential for the
protection of such rights

ECHR-

What is Section 14 of the Human Rights Act?

Article 14 protects your right not to be discriminated against in connection with your
human rights under the Human Rights Act. This means your human rights mustn't be protected
differently because of who you are.

Racial discrimination

Racial discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably, or not given the same
opportunities, as others in a similar situation, because of their race, the country where they were
born, their ethnic origin or their skin colour. Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do
business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain group.

Example: An employer refused to hire a suitably qualified Aboriginal person as a shop assistant
and instead hired a less qualified person of a different race because they felt they could lose
customers if they had an Aboriginal person working in the shop. This could be racial
discrimination.

1. International convention on elimination of all forms of racial

discrimination
The prohibition against racial discrimination is fundamental and deeply entrenched in
international law. It has been recognized as having the exceptional character of jus cogens which
creates obligations erga omnes, an obligation from which no derogation is acceptable.

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

(hereinafter “ICERD” or “the Convention”) is the centerpiece of the international regime for the
protection and enforcement of the right against racial discrimination. While the principle of non-
discrimination appears in Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations and is enshrined in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it was felt that this crucial rule of international law
should receive due prominence in a legal instrument which elaborated the definitions and
obligations in stemming from it.

The convention ( learn this much is enough)

The Convention

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was
adopted in the 1965 and entered into force in 1969. It remains the principal international human
rights instrument defining and prohibiting racial discrimination in all sectors of private and
public life.

By becoming a party to ICERD, States have declared that racial discrimination should be
outlawed and have pledged themselves to abide by the terms of the Convention. ICERD
authorizes the establishment of an international committee of experts to oversee Member State
compliance with the treaty, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(hereinafter “CERD”) (articles 2 and 8). Parties to ICERD must periodically submit written
reports which detail their country’s progress toward fulfilling the goals of ICERD (article 9).
During the review period, Member States also send government officials to answer the questions
of committee members. To receive added insight into country conditions, CERD also receives
reports provided by United Nations agencies, national institutes of human rights, and
international and domestic NGO’s.

The Convention defines “racial discrimination” as:

“any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or
ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition,
enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the
political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life ” (article 1).

Article 6 guarantees effective protection from discrimination and remedies through equal access
to competent and fair tribunals, prompt investigations and prosecutions followed by just and
adequate reparations.

State Obligations

The States ratifying the Convention undertake to eliminate racial discrimination through all
means, including legislation, policies, educational initiatives, or prosecutions. Each State party
must act to end racial discrimination “in all its forms”, to take no action as a State, and to ensure
that no public entity does so whether national or local. States must not sponsor, defend, or
support racial discrimination in any way. States must immediately review and rescind or nullify
existing laws that create or perpetuate racial discrimination.

Conclusion

The unique character of the Convention and its superior importance as recognized in the
Decision will serve to elevate the regard given to the Convention going forward and the
importance of the work of the CERD.
 2. Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice
Monday, 27 November, 1978

This declaration adopted under the auspices of UNESCO is based on the principle that racism
violates human worth and dignity. Article 1(2) provides that "all individuals and groups have the
right to be different, to consider themselves as different and to be regarded as such. However, the
diversity of life styles and the right to be different may not, in any circumstances, serve as a
pretext for racial prejudice; they may not justify either in law or in fact any discriminatory
practice whatsoever, nor provide a ground for the policy of apartheid, which is the extreme form
of racism.

3. The United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination

against Women (CEDAW)
The United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. It has often
been described as the international bill of rights for women and sets out a comprehensive set of
rights for women in civil, political, economic, social and cultural fields. It also provides a
definition of discrimination against women.

Article 1: Definition of Discrimination Discrimination against women is: “any distinction,

exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or
nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status,
on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the
political, economic, social, cultural, civil and any other field”.

Article 2: Policy Measures to be Taken Governments condemn discrimination against women in

all its forms and will work to end it. This includes abolishing all existing laws, customs and
regulations that are discriminatory.

Article 3: Guarantee of Basic Human Rights Governments will take all appropriate actions to
ensure the advancement of women and to protect their rights on a basis of equality with men

Article 15: Equality Before the Law Governments will give women equality with men before the
law, including rights to enter contracts, administer property, appear in court or before tribunals,
and to choose residence and domicile.

Article 16: Marriage and the Law Governments will ensure that women and men have equal
rights to choose a spouse and to marry; the same rights and responsibilities within marriage and
on divorce; and equal rights in all matters relating to the birth, adoption and raising of children.

Articles 17-22 Detail the establishment and function of the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women