Protection of human rights constitutes the core function of a democratic state.
Public security is a human rights issue, going to the core of a state’s responsibility to provide for the security and protection of all people living within its borders in a manner consistent with universal rights and democratic norms.
Respect for human rights and the rule of law must become part of any effort to govern and reform the security sector. Effecting such change is a long term process.
Human rights organizations play a vital role in working with governments and with other civil society organizations to instil respect for the human and legal rights of citizens.
Monitoring the observance of international human rights within the state, domestic human rights groups can also contribute to reform/oversight efforts.
Human Security and Human Rights
In the landmark report “In Larger Freedom”, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan highlighted the interdependence of the concepts:
“We will not enjoy development without security, we will not enjoy security without development, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights.”
What are human rights?
Human rights are:
- Universal legal guarantees
- Civil, political, economic, social, and cultural
- Internationally agreed norms which protect basic human values (freedom, equality, dignity)
- Inherent to individuals and, in certain cases, groups (e.g. minority rights)
- Laid down in international declarations and treaties
- They are legally binding on states
Legal framework for human rights:
Human Rights are fundamental universal rights that all human beings are entitled to. They are outlined in the 30 articles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948). Since its creation, this founding document has been expanded and complemented by other international and regional legal instruments, such as those composing the International Bill of Rights.
International Bill of Rights:
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, 1966)
- International Covenant of Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, 1966)
- Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD, 1965)
- Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979)
- Convention Against Torture (CAT, 1984)
- Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989)
Other regional HR legislation:
- The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR, 1950) [1]
- The American Convention on Human Rights (IACHR, 1969)
- The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR, 1981)
Human Rights:
Every human being, everywhere in the world has the:
Right to Life
Right to Freedom
Right to Equality
Right to Security
Right not to be Enslaved
Right not to be Tortured
Right not to be treated in a cruel, inhuman, or degrading manner
Right to universal recognition of one’s rights
Right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law
Right to protection against any discrimination
Right to protection against any incitement to discrimination
Right to an effective judicial remedy in view of any violation of one’s rights
Right to not be arrested or detained arbitrarily
Right to a fair trial
Right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty
Right to only be charged with criminal offences which are specified as such in national or international law
Right to not be accused of a crime if, at the time when it was committed, there was no law against it
Right to not receive a harsher penalty than the one that was applicable at the time the offence was committed
Right to privacy
Right to family
Right to have a home
Right to free and private correspondence
Right to protection against attacks on one’s honour and reputation
Right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state
Right to freedom of movement between the borders of different states
Right to asylum
Right to a nationality
Right to change one’s nationality
Right to not be arbitrarily denied or deprived of nationality
Right to marry
Right to equal rights during the marriage and at its dissolution
Right to only marry freely and willingly
Right of the family to be protected by the state and the society
Right to one’s own property (alone or in association with others)
Right to not be arbitrarily deprived of one’s own property
Right to freedom of thought
Right to freedom of conscience
Right to freedom of religion
Right to change one’s beliefs
Right to manifest one’s beliefs in teaching, practice, worship and observance
Right to freedom of opinion
Right to freedom of speech and expression
Right to peaceful assembly and association
Right to participate in the government of one’s own country
Right to vote
Equal right of access to public service of one’s country
Right to social security
Right to economic, social, and cultural rights necessary for one’s personal development
Right to a free choice of employment
Right to protection against unemployment
Right to equal pay for equal work
Right to just and favourable remuneration
Right to form and join trade unions
Right to rest and leisure
Right to periodic holidays with pay
Right to adequate standard of living
Right to food
Right to clothing
Right to housing
Right to medical care
Right to social services
Right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other circumstances beyond one’s control.
Right to special care and assistance for motherhood and childhood
Equal social protection for all children
Right to education
Right to free elementary education (elementary education should be compulsory)
Right to equal access to higher education
Right to freely participate in cultural life
Right to the protection of interests resulting from one’s own scientific, literary and artistic production
Right to an international and social order allowing for the fulfilment of Human Rights
Sources:
Human Rights News, Views and Info: here.
Interactive educational tool on Human Rights.
Johanna Mendelson Forman, ‘Public Oversight of the Security Sector, (2008) in Public Oversight of the Security Sector: A Handbook for Civil Society Organisations
See UN Doc. A/59/2005: In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All. Report of the Secretary-General, New York 21 March
Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
[1] For graphics and summary of ECHR see: http://rightsinfo.org/the-rights-in-the-european-convention/