Legal

Frameworks for
Gender Equality

Prof. ES.P. Adornado

Asst. Prof. II, BU JMRIGD

What are Human Rights?

– HUMAN RIGHTS are the rights that all people have by virtue of being
human beings.
– HUMAN RIGHTS are the rights that all people have by virtue of being
human beings.
– HUMAN RIGHTS are derived from the inherent dignity of the human
person and are defined internationally, nationally and locally by various
law making bodies.
Where do rights come from?

Human rights are based on the values of

– • Dignity
– • Justice
– • Respect
– • Equality
*Source: “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” by UNO and UNESCO. www.uno.org.uk –
www.unesco.org.uk
Classification of Human Rights
– Human rights can be classified and organized in a number of different ways, at an
international level the most common categorization of human rights has been to split
them into civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights.
– Civil and political rights are enshrined in articles 3 to 21 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR).
– Economic, social and cultural rights are enshrined in articles 22 to 28 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). (1966)
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: (Core
Provisions)
1. Rights to physical integrity ( Right to life, Torture, and Slavery)
• Reduce infant mortality
• Increase life expectancy
• Prohibit the death penalty
• Prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment
• Prohibition on medical and scientific experimentation without consent
• Prohibits slavery and enforced servitude in all situations
• Prohibits forced labor, with exceptions for criminal punishment, military service
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (cont.):

2. Liberty and security of person

• Prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention
• Impose procedural safeguards around arrest
• Anyone deprived of liberty to be treated with dignity and humanity
• Prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
• Imposes specific obligations around criminal justice
• Prohibits the use of imprisonment as a punishment 3. Procedural fairness and rights
of the accused (Rights of the accused and Right to a fair trial)
• Protects a right to justice and a fair trial
• Requires states to recognize everyone as a person before the law
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (cont.):

4. Individual liberties ( Freedom of movement, Freedom of religion, Freedom of thought, Freedom of

speech, Freedom of assembly, and Freedom of association)
• The right of persons to choose their residence and to leave a country
• Protects private adult consensual sexual activity
• Protects people against unlawful attacks to their honor and reputation
• Freedom of religion
• Freedom of expression
• Freedom of association(the right to trade unions)
• The right of marriage 5. Political rights
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (Core Provisions)
1. Right to life (abortion, capital punishment, self defense and war)
2. Freedom from torture (torture, ill-treatment and immoral)
3. Freedom from slavery (slave trade and Human trafficking)
4. Right to a fair trial (the right to be heard by a competent, the right to a public
hearing the right to be heard within a reasonable time the right to council,
the right to interpretation)
5. Freedom of speech
6. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (cont.):
7. Right of social security and insurance
8. Right of safe and healthy environment
9. Right to adequate food, clothing and housing and to the continuous
improvement of living conditions
10. Right to education
11. Right to heath care
12. Economic rights are subject to each county’s ability to provide such
rights progressively as its resources permit
Classification of HR

Karel Vasak, a Czech Jurist classified HumanRights into three categories in 1979 as:

1. Human Rights of First Generation: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
2. Human Rights of Second Generation: International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights
3. Human Rights of Third Generation: Collective Rights These are also called 
Three Generations of Human Rights. Collective Rights

These are also called Three Generations of Human Rights.

First Generation of Human Rights
(Blue Rights)
– Also called Blue Rights
– Liberation & Participation in Political Life
– Fundamentally Civil & Political nature
– When 1st Generation is limited, this directly
limits 2nd Generation.
– Rights include: Freedom of Speech, Right to a fair trial,
Freedom of religion and Voting rights.
Second Generation of Human Rights
(Red Rights)
– Red Rights
– Economic, Social and Cultural in nature
– Right to Employment, Housing and Health Care, Social Security &
Unemployment benefits
– US President Roosevelt - Second Bill of Rights
– In South Africa, it is not Right to housing per se but Right to adequate
housing
Third Generation of Human Rights
– Largely unofficial rights
– Difficult to implement
– Group and collective rights
– Right to self-determination
– Right to economic and social
development
– Right to a healthy environment
– Right to natural resources
– Right to communicate and
communication rights
– Right to participation in cultural
heritage
– Rights to intergenerational equity
and sustainability
Modern Protection of International Human
Rights
In addition to the International Bill of Human Rights, the United Nations has drafted and
declared over 80 human rights instruments:
genocide
racial discrimination
discrimination against women
Refugee protection
torture
the rights of disabled persons
the rights of the child
UN Human Rights Bodies

1. Security Council
2. General Assembly
3. Economic and Social Council
4. Commission on Human Rights
5. Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection
of Human Rights
UN Human Rights Bodies

6. Commission on the Status of Women

7. Commission on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice
8. International Court of Justice
9. International Criminal Court
10.Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
UN Human Rights Bodies

Treaty Monitoring Bodies

1. Human Rights Committee
2. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
3. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
4. Committee Against Torture
5. Committee on the Rights of the Child
6. Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights
Where Do Human Rights Begin?

“In small places, close to home, so close and so small that they cannot be
seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual
person, the neighborhood he lives in, the factory, farm, or office where he
worked. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks
equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination.
Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning
anywhere.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt, 1958