PART TWO INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN RIGHTS 1. What do we mean by “human rights”? Human rights are universal legal guarantees protecting individuals and groups against actions by Governments that interfere with fundamental freedoms and human dignity. Human rights law obliges Governments to do some things and prevents them from doing others. The following are some of the most frequently cited characteristics of human rights: ● Internationally guaranteed ● Legally protected ● Focus on the dignity of the human being ● Protect individuals and groups ● Oblige States and State actors ● Cannot be waived or taken away ● Equal and interdependent ● Universal ● Right to a fair trial; ● Freedom from discrimination; ● Right to equal protection of the law; ● Freedom from arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence; ● Right to asylum; ● Right to nationality; ● Freedom of thought, conscience and religion; ● Right to health; ● Right to education; ● Right to participate in cultural life. Treaty law includes the law of human rights as set out in the many international agreements (treaties, covenants, conventions) that have been collectively (either bilaterally or multilaterally) developed, signed and ratified by States. Some of these treaties cover whole sets of rights (such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), while others focus on particular types of violations (such as the Convention against Torture, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide) or on particular groups to be protected (such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees). Another type focuses on particular situations, such as armed con- Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; ● Right to adequate food, shelter, clothing and social security; Customary international law (or simply “custom”) is international law that develops through the general and consistent practice of States and is followed because of a sense of legal obligation. In other words, if States perform in a certain way over a period of time because they all believe that they are required to do so, that behaviour comes to be recognized as a principle of international law, binding on States, even if it is not laid down in a particular agreement. Thus, while the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not in itself a binding treaty, provisions of the Declaration have been identified as having the character of customary international law and States are therefore bound to respect them. Right to life; Freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention; Right to just and favourable working conditions; Human rights norms and standards are derived from two principal types of international source, “customary international law” and “treaty law”. Freedom of association, expression, assembly and movement; ● ● 3. Where do human rights “rules” come from? Human rights are described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the various treaties (also called “covenants” and “conventions”), declarations, guidelines and bodies of principles elaborated by the United Nations and by regional organizations. They include a broad range of guarantees, addressing virtually every aspect of human life and human interaction. The rights guaranteed to all human beings include: ● Right to vote and to take part in government; ● 2. Examples of human rights ● ● 13