CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 : Meaning and Concept of Human Rights

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex,
nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include
the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and
expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to
these rights, without discrimination. “Human rights” is one of the most
important concepts in our modern era. Activists, governments, and
corporations use it to draw on a collective understanding that all people
deserve certain rights and freedoms. No matter who a person is, where
they’re from, what they believe, or how they live, everyone has rights that
cannot be taken away. Where do these rights come from and who protects
them? What’s considered a “right?”

The early origins of human rights

Human society didn’t always believe in universal human rights the way we
do now. The first recorded example of anything close to human rights
comes from Cyrus the Great, a Persian king. When he conquered Babylon,
he established a set of basic rights for everyone. We can find those rights,
which include freedom from slavery and freedom of religion, written on
a clay cylinder now housed in the British Museum far from its original
home. “Natural law” was also discussed in ancient Greece and Rome.
Natural law eventually expanded to the idea of “natural rights.” The Magna
Carta, which became an official part of English law in 1297, represents a
major milestone for rights like due process and equality under the law.
Centuries later, the Bill of Rights from the United States lay another road
map to modern human rights.
These early days of human rights more often than not excluded certain
groups. Many early advocates of basic rights did not believe they applied
equally to everyone. When documents like the Bill of Rights talked about
freedom and dignity, they meant privileged groups such as land-owning
white men. Even as the concept of rights expanded to include more people,
exclusion continued. The right to vote is a good example. In the United
States, the 19th Amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote, but
racial discrimination and violence hampered the ability of both Black men
and women to exercise this right. True voting rights for all did not become
reality until 45 years later.

Human rights in the current era

Our modern understanding of human rights first entered the scene after
World War II. The new United Nations formed a committee in 1945 and
wrote a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This formalized the
concept of universal human rights, as well as the role governments must
play in protecting and providing them. Other documents followed, such as
the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, International
Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
and Convention on the Rights of the Child. Many constitutions and regional
charters include rights from international instruments, such as freedom of
speech, freedom of religion, and the right to a fair trial. These instruments
are necessary to enforce human rights law.
The protection of human rights is irrevocably woven into peace and
development. According to entities like the United Nations, sustainability,
peace, and freedom are impossible without human rights. Linking basic
rights to security and stability in this way is a major feature of our modern
understanding of human rights.
1.2 Notion and Classification of Rights : Natural, Moral and Legal Rights

The standard of permitted action within a certain sphere are called

rights. In other words, a right is any action of a person which law
permits. Legal rights is different from a moral or natural right in the
sense that it is recognized & protected by law, whereas the latter
may/may not be recognized & protected by law. We shall now,
discuss the types of rights in detail.

Kinds of Legal Rights

In simple words, the court of law can enforce legal rights against
persons and also against the government. A legal right is an interest
accepted and protected by law. Also, any debasement of any legal
right is punishable by law. Legal rights affect every citizen. Legal
rights are equally available to all the citizens without the
discrimination of caste, creed & sex.

I. Perfect & Imperfect Rights

II. Positive & Negative Rights
III. Real & Personal Rights
Natural rights
The history of human rights is rooted in ancient times and the philosophical
concepts of natural law and thus, also termed natural rights. Plato was one
of the first writers to give a standard ethical code of conduct. Aristotle
opined that rights change as per the different kinds of circumstances faced
by society from time to time. Since human rights are universally applicable
to every person in the world it is similar to natural rights. Natural rights have
been derived from natural law which opines that law must reflect moral
reasoning and must be related with morals imbibed in a person or set by
the society. On the other hand, positivism states that human rights are a
result of enactments of statutes and orders by law which comes with
various sanctions attached to it.

Moral rights
Human rights that determine the spiritual and moral conduct of a person
are termed moral rights. They are primarily contained in moral rights as
they highlight various moral values that cannot be highlighted by any set of
institutional rights. They promote moral values like respect for everyone,
brotherhood, secularism, protection of life, peace in society, etc. Human
rights also put moral obligations on the state and people not to violate and
infringe on the rights of other people. If done so, it will be punished as per
the provisions of the set statute.

1.3 Three Generations of Human Rights (Civil and Political Rights; Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights; Collective/Solidarity Right)

1. Civil and political rights

The rights that protect the life and personal liberty of a person are called civil
rights. They are necessary to maintain the dignity of a person. These include
rights like the right to life, liberty and security of a person, the right to
privacy, the right to own property, freedom of thought, religion and
movement.

Political rights are such rights that allow a person to participate in

governmental activities. These include rights like the right to vote and the
right to be elected. The nature of such rights is different, but they are
interrelated to each other. Both these rights are covered in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

These rights are also called first-generation rights and are derived from 17th
and 18th-century theories related to the American, English, and French
Revolutions. These form a part of negative rights because the government
abstains from doing such activities or forming policies that violate these
rights. The following civil and political rights are recognised in the declaration
of human rights by the United Nations:
  Right to life, personal liberty, and security (Article 3)
 Freedom from slavery (Article 4)
 The prohibition against torture and inhuman treatment (Article 5)
 Equality before the law and equal protection (Article 7)
 Remedy before national tribunals (Article 8)
 Freedom from arrest, which is arbitrary in nature (Article 9)
 Right to a fair trial and public hearing by an impartial tribunal
(Article 10)
 Freedom from ex-post-facto laws (Article 11)
 Right to privacy (Article 12)
 Right to nationality (Article 15)
 Right to own property (Article 17)
 Right to freedom of religion and conscience (Article 18)
 Freedom of expression (Article 19)
 Freedom to conduct a peaceful assembly (Article 20)
 Take part in government activities (Article 21)

2. Fundamental rights
Some human rights are guaranteed to the citizens of the state through
constitutional provisions and cannot be infringed upon at any cost, even by
the state authorities. These are termed as fundamental rights. The
expression ‘fundamental rights’ is stated in declarations and constitutional
provisions of many states. The Virginia Declaration of 1776 states that men
are free and independent and have certain inherent rights. The French
Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen, 1789 provides that men are born
free and have equal rights. The Indian Constitution guarantees six
fundamental rights to the citizens of the country. These are:

 Right to Equality (Article14)

 Right to freedom (Article19-22)
 Right to religion (Article 25)
 Cultural and educational rights (Article 29–30)
 Right against exploitation (Article 23– 24)
 Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32)
Economic rights, cultural Rights and social
rights
These rights are also called freedoms and guarantee a person the minimum
necessities of life. These are also included in the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. These form a part of positive rights as
the state is required to frame policies and provisions to implement such
rights. These rights are based on the concept of social equality and are
second-generation rights. These rights include the right to work, social
security, physical and mental health, and education. The various economic,
cultural, and social rights recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights are as follows:

 Right to social security (Article 22)

 Right to work and choice of employment (Article 23)
 Right to rest (Article 24)
 Right to standard living and health (Article 25)
 Right to education (Article 26)
 Freedom to participate in cultural life (Article 27)
 Right to social and international order (Article 28)
In addition to the above rights, there is yet another kind of right called
collective rights. These rights are enjoyed by individuals collectively and
include the right to self-determination, physical protection of the group, and
the prohibition of genocide.