Core: Human Rights Flashcards
HUMAN RIGHTS
Basic entitlements and freedoms believed to belong to all human beings
characteristics of HR
universal indivisible inherent inalienable non discriminatory
universal
relating to or done by all people or things in the world or in a particular group
indivisible
unable to be divided or separated
inherent
existing in something as a permanent, essential or characteristic attribute
inalienable
not subject to being taken away from or given away by the possessor
non discriminatory
prohibits discrimination on the basis of non-exhaustive characteristics such as age, sex, colour, etc
types of rights
1st gen
2nd gen
3rd gen
1st generation rights
(individual): Protect individuals from arbitrary/totalitarian exercises of power by the state.
Civil: the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality
Political: an individual’s ability to participate in the civil and political life of society
2nd gen rights
individual): Concerned with the cultural and material wellbeing of individuals
Economic:
Cultural:
Social:
3rd gen rights
(collective): Belong to ‘peoples’ as a whole, not individuals
E.g Self-determination, the right for a people to govern itself
Beginning to be recognized in treaties and declarations
ABOLITION OF SLAVERY
Slavery – forced labour, property of another: ‘Objects not subjects’
Debt slavery – pay off a loan with slavery rather than money, punishment for crime, prisoners of war.
consequence of colonisation – slaves used to exploit natural resources
(17C-19C) Transatlantic slave trade – exchange of products for slaves.
Abolitionism – movement to abolish slavery- gradual from 18C. First in Britain, later British Empire and the USA
abolition of slavery dom recognition
1772 – Common Law decision ruled slavery in Britain illegal
Slave Trade Act 1807 (UK) ended slave trade in British colonies. 1808 USA followed
Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (UK) abolished slavery in Britain – all remaining slaves in Empire freed
1776 US Declaration of Independence – ‘all men are created equal’. Main cause of civil war.
US Constitution Thirteenth Amendment – abolished slavery
abolition of slavery international recognition
1926 - League of Nations Slavery Convention abolished slavery worldwide (the League of Nations was precursor to UN)
Article 4 UDHR- (1948) prohibited slavery
TRADE UNIONISM (LABOUR RIGHTS):
Conventional labour – legal means of securing large numbers of workers
Workplaces regulated according to status e.g. serfs were agricultural labourers, large in number but little power
Regulation favoured employers – compelled labourers to work not protect
Industrial Revolution – emergence of trade unions responding to poor wages, safety and working conditions
Trade unions had power because of strikes – employers have to listen
Laws criminalised unions – some arrested, penalised
trade unionism dom rec.
1871 Trade Unions Act (UK) gave unions legal status in Britain
1890’s Unions in Australia formed their own political party (ALP)
trade unionism int rec.
1919 International Labour Organisation (ILO) formed as an agency of the League of Nations. Their aim to improve conditions for workers around the world
Apart from slavery, workers’ rights was one of the few areas that League of Nations promoted HR’s
Article 23 and 24 UDHR (1948)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESR) (1966)
UNIVERSAL SUFFERAGE
Right to vote
Only recently unrestricted. Previously restricted based on status (property ownership), gender (men), race (excluded indigenous eg Native American), nationality.
universal sufferage dom rec.
Representation of the People Act 1918 (UK) – vote given to all males
1893 – NZ women given right to vote
1894 – Sth. Australian women right to vote
1902 – all Australian women
1918 – UK limited right for women to vote
US Constitution Nineteenth Amendment 1920 – women right to vote
1870 US Constitution Fifteenth Amendment vote extended to all adult males (post-civil war)
Australia indigenous right to vote since Federation 1901 (but not compulsory)
universal sufferage int rec.
Article 21 UDHR – right to vote
UNIVERSAL EDUCATION
Formal education in earliest times was associated with wealth and power
The church was one of the first to take on role of educator in Europe e.g. Sunday school taught reading, writing and arithmetic.
Industrialisation increased demand for a literate educated workforce therefore government increased funding and increased provision of education and made education compulsory
universal education dom rec.
Education Act 1870 (UK) – in 1880 was made compulsory age 5-10, up to 12 in 1889
Public Instruction Act 1880 (NSW) – govt took control of schools except for Catholic (free, secular) School age increased to 17yrs in 2010
universal education int rec.
Article 26 UDHR
Millennium Goal – universal primary education (achieve by 2015)
SELF-DETERMINATION
- The right of all peoples to ’freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development’.
- Third generation collective right
self determination dom rec.
Independence of East Timor: gained the right to Independence/self-determination from Indonesia in 2002
Former Yugoslavia Republic: formed after WW1, made up of Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia. Slovenia and Croatia sought independence in 1991, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, leaving only Serbia and Montenegro
self determination INT REC
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: passed in 2007, created framework for laws to make sure issues are addressed, working directly with Indigenous communities.
self determination : The Uluru Statement
calls for structural reform ‘establishing new relationships between First Nations and the Australian Nation based on justice and self-determination, where indigenous cultures and peoples can flourish and we all move forward.’
Reforms include: voice; a voice to parliament would be a representative body giving Aboriginal and TSI people a say in law and policies affecting them, treaty and truth
Referendum regarding this is being planned atm, therefore no legal achievements yet.
self determination AUSTRALIA
VOTED AGAINST DECLARATION
- At the time, the Australian government rejected the statement and PM John Howard said ‘there should only be one law for all Australians’.
- In 2009 the Australian Government (Labour, Kevin Rudd) made a public statement formally endorsing the declaration.
- Even though Australia has now endorsed the Declaration, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia continue to face very different life outcomes than the non-Indigenous population.
- The ongoing dispossession and racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people contribute to the huge gaps in health, life expectancy and imprisonment rates today.
- Stats: From birth, Indigenous Australians have a lower life expectancy than non-Indigenous Australians (approx. a decade less)
self determination - Canada, NZ and USA
o Dozens of treaties have been signed in the US and Canada which afford First Nations communities varying degrees of genuine self-determination, from controlling their own schooling to giving them a real capacity to generate an economic base.
o Native Americans and First Nations people in Canada also have significant political structures which ensure a greater degree of power in their own communities. In Canada, they have the Assembly of First Nations. In the US, individual reservations act as partially autonomous bodies, providing their own law and policing, schooling, health, housing and infrastructure, and income through tax breaks and initiatives like casinos.
o In New Zealand, Maori have seven seats which sit over the entire nation, in which only Maori can vote.
ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS
• Third generation rights (collective)
• The combination of international environmental law and human rights ultimately aims to produce better conditions of life on earth
Deals with environmental problems such as global warming, spread of epidemics, marine pollution, depletion of ozone layer, atmospheric pollution
environmental rights recognition
The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights 1931 – outlines the rights to a satisfactory environment
The American Convention on Human Rights 1988 – stating the explicit right to a healthy environment and the obligation of all state parties to protect
Stockholm Declaration 1972 – first major agreement to recognise a responsibility for protecting the environment
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – first universal recognition of Global Warming posing a threat
Kyoto Protocol 1997 – agreement to target climate change
The Paris Agreement 2016 – accelerate anti global warming efforts, an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, dealing with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance, signed in 2016.
PEACE RIGHTS
the entitlement of people to live in a safe and peaceful environment, free from conflict which require global cooperation to achieve
Global attempts to establish peace and security
1919 Peace Conference - created the Treaty of Versailles and established the League of Nations whose primary aim was to prevent war
UN Charter (article 1, 1945) – articulated the aim to – ‘save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’
UN Security Council – was given authority to take action to restore peace
Declaration on the Rights of Peoples to Peace - , although non-binding explicitly made the link between peace and human rights
The Rome Statute – established the International Criminal Court with the power to try individuals for war crimes
Declaration on the Right to Peace 2016 – ratified by the UN General Assembly in a majority vote, although it was challenging determining the text of the declaration.
Historical Constitutional Documents
magna carta english bill of rights us declaration of independence the us constitution and bill of rights declaration on the rights of man and of the citizen
