PHA-Exchange> Food for the most principled thoughts

[Claudio]

Human Rights Reader 90

 

HUMAN RIGHTS PRINCIPLES: WHAT THEY MEAN IN PRACTICE.

 

Universality and indivisibility
 

1. Every woman, man, and child is entitled to enjoy her or his human rights simply by virtue of being human. It is this universality of human rights that distinguishes them from other types of rights --such as citizenship rights or contractual rights. The principle of universality requires that no group, including geographically remote communities, be left out of the reach of development assistance and public policies. Despite widespread recognition of the universality principle, many still question its validity. This is easily countered by applying what has been called the Ramcharan test of universality. "Just ask any human being:  Would you like to live or die?  Would you like to be tortured or enslaved?  If there is any critic of universality who would argue that an individual would choose death to life, and serfdom to freedom, let us hear from that critic."

 

2. Human rights are indivisible. Enjoyment of one right is indivisibly inter-related to the enjoyment of other rights. For instance, enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health requires enjoyment of the rights to information and education, as well as the right to an adequate standard of living. All human rights --civil and political; economic and social--should be treated with the same respect. Policies and programs should not, therefore, be aimed at implementing one particular right alone.  However, the fact that all human rights should be accorded the same respect does not preclude priority-setting in programming support. The scarcity of the resources and institutional constraints often require us to establish priorities, for instance favouring the rights to food, basic education, and health.

 

3. Poverty encroaches on a set of rights that cannot be subdivided into separate rights. Some insist on the immediate protection of civil and political rights, while conceding that economic, social, and cultural rights depend on affordability. This distinction is artificial, for two reasons: first, there is no clear-cut division between civil/political rights and socio-economic rights; second, all rights have resource implications. By ratifying human rights conventions, a state takes-on the obligation to provide material assistance and to support programmes for the poor, including through international cooperation.

 

Equality and non-discrimination

 

4. Human rights are for everyone, as much for people living in poverty and social isolation as for the bright and educated. International law prohibits discrimination in the enjoyment of human rights on any ground, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. The term, "or other status" is interpreted to include personal circumstances, occupation, life style, sexual orientation and health status. People living with HIV and AIDS, for instance, are entitled to the enjoyment of their fundamental human rights and freedoms without any unjustified restriction.

 

5. Equality also requires that all persons in a society enjoy equal access to the available goods and services that are necessary to fulfil basic human needs. It prohibits discrimination in law or in practice in any field regulated and protected by public authorities. Thus the principle of non-discrimination applies to all state policies and practices, including those concerning healthcare, education, access to services, travel regulations, entry requirements and immigration.

 

Participation and inclusion

 

6. An essential principle of the international human rights framework is that every person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy civil, economic, social, cultural and political developments in which human rights and fundamental freedoms can be realised. This means that participation is not simply something desirable from the point of view of ownership and sustainability, but rather a right with profound consequences for the design and implementation of development activities. It is concerned with access to decision-making --and is critical in the exercise of power.

 

7. The principles of participation and inclusion mean that all people are entitled to participate in society to the maximum of their potential. This, in turn, necessitates the provision of a supportive environment to enable people to develop and express their full potential, voice and creativity.

 

Accountability and the Rule of Law

 

8. States have the primary responsibility to create an enabling environment in which all people can enjoy their human rights, and are obliged to ensure that respect for human rights norms and principles is integrated into all levels of governance and policy-making. The principle of accountability is essential for securing an enabling environment for development. Human rights do not simply define the needs of people, but recognise people as active subjects and claim-holders, thus establishing the duties and obligations of those responsible for ensuring that needs are met. As a consequence, the identification of duty-bearers has to feature as an integral part of program development.

 

9. Rights themselves must be protected by law. Any dispute about them is not to be resolved through the exercise of arbitrary or discretionary procedures, but rather through adjudication by competent, impartial, and independent processes. These procedures will ensure full equality and fairness to all parties, and determine the question at issue in accordance with clear, specific, and pre-existing laws, known and openly proclaimed. All persons are equal before the law, and are entitled to equal protection. The rule of law ensures that no one is above the law, and should ensure that there is no impunity for human rights violations.

 

Claudio Schuftan, Ho Chi Minh City

claudio at hcmc.netnam.vn 

___________________________________________

Taken from Urban Jonsson (Senior Advisor on Human Rights-Based Programming, UNICEF), 'A human rights-based approach to programming (HRBAP)',  Final Draft (25 June 2004).

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://phm.phmovement.org/pipermail/phm-exchange-phmovement.org/attachments/20041205/f30dd6ce/attachment-0001.html>