Formal statements of human rights

Question 1

what is the international bill of rights made up of

Answer 1

universal declaration of human rights (UDHR) > first piece of human rights law
international covenant on civil and political rights (ICCPR)
international covenant on economic, social, and cultural rights (ICESCR)

Question 2

how did the universal declaration of human rights come to be?

Answer 2

after the horrific events of world war two, the international community got together and developed the UN. As the second article of the UN Charter states that its function is to promote human rights, the counrtries of the UN made the UDHR as a consequence in 1948.

Question 3

what did the UDHR involve

Answer 3

• list of 30 rights (such as right to life, liberty, security, thought, religion, education, and equality)

Question 4

what are the grey areas of the UDHR

Answer 4

in standalone, the UDHR loses some of its power because its a declaration, which is a non-binding treaty, in which even if countries ratify to the document, they won’t be forced to stop violating these rights

Question 5

what are the positive influences of the UDHR despite its grey areas?

Answer 5

• can be used to influence countries into action through naming and shaming human rights abusers
• still very influential
• inspired many other human rights treaties

Question 6

what is the difference between the UDHR, and the ICCPR/ ICESCR?

Answer 6

the ICCPR/ ICESCR are covenants, which are binding –> countries sign up and then are monitored as to how well they act. the two are very connected as they are both drafted in 1966 and came into force in 1976

Question 7

what does the ICCPR involve?

Answer 7

• focus on civil and political rights (such as the right to fair trial, right to presumption of innocence, freedom of movement, and restrictions on slavery and torture)
• there are 53 articles, where majority of the UN members are signatories to
• the ICCPR is managed by the Human Rights Committee, which every four years send up a report to see how well they are complying with the rules of the ICCPR

Question 8

what does the ICESCR involve?

Answer 8

• Protecting the economic, social, and cultural rights of individuals (such as the right to work, right to standard of living, right to culture, right to education)
• there are 31 articles
• enforced by the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural rights. Similar to the ICCPR, countries have to report to the committee on their human rights progress

Question 9

what are the three treaties (ICESCR, UDHR, ICCPR)’s contribution to the development of human rights?

Answer 9

UDHR:
- historical achievement influencing countries to comply with human right s
- educating people on their rights
- however, isn’t binding

ICCPR AND ICESCR:
- have the same contributions as the UDHR, except they have an element of enforceability the other lacked, and where counteies have to report their compliance to the covenants

Question 10

Grey areas of the ICCPR and ICESCR

Answer 10

• limited in contribution due to no compulsory sign ups
• Even if the rules are violated, there is not much the UN can do rather than write a report and condemn you
• for example, Australia’s violation of human rights in detaining asylum seekers indefinitely violates a number of articles in the ICCPR and the ICESCR, however, despite constant condemnation from the UN, Australia is not enforced and has not changed their attitude