What are human rights?

 

What are human rights?

Human rights are rights we have simply because we exist as human beings - they are not granted by any state. These universal rights are inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They range from the most fundamental - the right to life - to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, was the first legal document to set out the fundamental human rights to be universally protected. The UDHR, which turned 70 in 2018, continues to be the foundation of all international human rights law. Its 30 articles provide the principles and building blocks of current and future human rights conventions, treaties and other legal instruments.

In the UK the Human Rights Act 1998 sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that everyone in the UK is entitled to. It incorporates the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into domestic British law. The Human Rights Act came into force in the UK in October 2000.

The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) protects the human rights of people in countries that belong to the Council of Europe.

( What is the Council of Europe? Formed in 1949, the Council of Europe is completely separated from the European Union and much larger, with 47 members compared to the EU’s 28. The UK became a Council member 24 years before it joined the EU.)

All 47 Member States of the Council, including the UK, have signed the Convention.

(In brackets the authors, novels or poems  you can ASSOCIATE the articles to!)

• the right to life (Article 2) The War Poets
• freedom from torture (Article 3) 1984, Refugee Blues
• freedom from slavery (Article 4)
• the right to liberty (Article 5) 1984
• the right to a fair trial (Article 6) 1984
• the right not to be punished for something that wasn’t against the law at the time (Article 7)
• the right to respect for family and private life (Article 8) Oscar Wilde’s life
• freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 9) 1984 Refugee Blues
• freedom of expression (Article 10) 1984
• freedom of assembly (Article 11) 1984
• the right to marry and start a family (Article 12)
• the right not to be discriminated against in respect of these rights (Article 14) Oliver Twist, Refugee Blues
• the right to protection of property (Protocol 1, Article 1)
• the right to education (Protocol 1, Article 2) Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist
• the right to participate in free elections (Protocol 1, Article 3)
• the abolition of the death penalty (Protocol 13)

The European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights applies and protects the rights and guarantees set out in the European Convention on Human Rights.