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HUMAN RIGHTS WEEK

CAMPAIGN ACTIONS

THIS MONTH:

EVS TESTIMONIALS

Human

Rights

Introduction to

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Human rights are those basic rights and freedoms, which, according to various philosophies, every person has by the mere fact of their human condition in order to guarantee a decent life; regardless of the law currently in force and positive factors such as the particular status, ethnicity or nationality. On the other hand, they are defined as conditions that create a relationship between the person and society, enabling people to be individuals, identifying themselves and with others.

These rights are usually defined as inherent to the person, irrevocable and inalienable, it means that they cannot be transmitted, transferred or waived: for example, no one can be sold as a slave. By definition, this concept of human rights is universal and equal, and incompatible with the systems based on the superiority of one caste, race, people, group or social class.

Universal human rights are often provided for by law and guaranteed by it, through treaties, customary

international law, general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law

establishes obligations of Governments to act in certain situations, or refrain from acting in certain ways in

others, to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.

The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of the international law of human rights.

This principle, as first emphasized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has been reiterated in

numerous conventions, declarations and resolutions on human rights. At the World Conference on Human

Rights held in Vienna in 1993, for example, it was decided that all States have the duty, regardless of their

political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental

freedoms.

All states have ratified at least one, and 80 percent of them four or more of the major human rights

treaties, reflecting the consent of states to establish legal obligations that undertake to comply with, and

giving the concept of universality concrete expression. Some fundamental human rights norms enjoy

universal protection under customary international law across all boundaries and civilizations. Human

WHAT ARE HUMAN RIGHTS?

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Human rights are inalienable. They should not be removed, except in certain situations and according to the procedural guarantees. For example, you can restrict the right to freedom if a court finds that a person is guilty of an offense.

Human rights include both rights and obligations. States assume obligations and duties under international law to respect protect and fulfil human rights. The obligation to respect means that states must refrain from interfering with the enjoyment of human rights, or restrict them. The obligation to protect requires states to prevent abuses of human rights against individuals and groups. The obligation to fulfil implies that states must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights. At the individual level, and as we enforce our human rights, we must also respect the human rights of others.

Human rights were taken up by – positive recognition – laws in the wake of the bourgeois revolutions of the 17th and 18th centuries: the English Revolution, the American Revolution and the French Revolution; the latter promoted the adoption in the National Assembly of August 26, 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The United Nations adopted on 10 December 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which includes in its 30 articles considered basic human rights, from the San Francisco Charter of 1945. This statement, together with the International Covenants on Human Rights and its Protocols constitute what has been called the International Bill of Human Rights. While the Declaration is generally a guidance document, the Covenants are international treaties binding the signatory states to comply.

Although it is not a mandatory or binding document for states, the UDHR served as the basis for the

creation of two international conventions of the UN, the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which were adopted by the

UN General Assembly in its resolution 2200 A (XXI) of 16 December 1976. It is still widely cited by

academics, lawyers and constitutional courts. Besides, the text assumes a constitutional status in some

countries , as in the case of Argentina.

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The Universal Dec lara t ion of Human Rights

1 We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way. 2 These rights belong to everybody; whether we are rich or poor, whatever country we live in, whatever sex or whatever colour we are, whatever language we speak, whatever we think or whatever we believe. 3 We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety. 4 Nobody has any right to make us a slave. We cannot make anyone else our slave. 5 Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us. 6 We all have the same right to use the law. 7 The law is the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly. 8 We can all ask for the law to help us when we are not treated fairly. 9 Nobody has the right to put us in prison without a good reason, to keep us there or to send us away from our country. 10 If someone is accused of breaking the law they have the right to a fair and public trial. 11 Nobody should be blamed for doing something until it has been proved that they did it. If people say we did something bad, we have the right to show this was not true. Nobody should punish us for something that we did not do, or for doing something which was not against the law when we did it. 12 Nobody should try to harm our good name. Nobo-dy has the right to come into our home, open our letters, or bother us or our family without a very good reason. 13 We all have the right to go where we want to in our own country and to travel abroad as we wish. 14 If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country, we all have the right to run away to ano-ther country to be safe. 15 We all have the right to belong to a country. 16 Every grown up has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are married, and when they are sepa-rated. 17 Everyone has the right to own things or share them. Nobody should take our things from us without a good reason.

18 We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want. 19 We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people wherever they live, through books, radio, television and in other ways. 20 We all have the right to meet our friends and to work together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if we don’t want to. 21 We all have the right to take part in the gover-nment of our country. Every grown up should be allo-wed to choose their own leaders from time to time and should have a vote which should be made in se-cret. 22 We all have the right to a home, to have enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill. We should all be allowed to enjoy music, art, craft, sport and to make use of our skills. 23 Every grown up has the right to a job, to get a fair wage for their work, and to join a trade union. 24 We all have the right to rest from work and relax. 25 We all have the right to a good life, with enough food, clothing, housing, and healthcare. Mothers and children, people without work, old and disabled peo-ple all have the right to help. 26 We all have the right to an education, and to fi-nish primary school, which should be free. We should be able learn a career, or to make use of all our skills. We should learn about the United Nations and about how to get on with other people and respect their rights. Our parents have the right to choose how and what we will learn. 27 We all have the right to our own way of life, and to enjoy the good things that science and learning bring. 28 We have a right to peace and order so we can all enjoy rights and freedoms in our own country and all over the world. 29 We have a duty to other people, and we should protect their rights and freedoms. 30 Nobody can take away these rights and freedoms from us.

Simplified version by Amnesty International UK

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The United Nations is the only international entity with jurisdiction for universal human rights legislation. Where it has been adopted, legislation commonly contains:

security rights that prohibit crimes such as murder/”enforced” involuntary suicide, massacre, torture and rape;

liberty rights that protect freedoms in areas such as belief and religion, association, assembling and movement;

political rights that protect the liberty to participate in politics by expressing themselves, protesting, participating in a republic;

due process rights that protect against abuses of the legal system such as imprisonment without trial, secret trials and excessive punishments;

equality rights that guarantee equal citizenship, equality before the law and nondiscrimination;

welfare rights (also known as economic rights) that require the provision of, e.g. education, paid holidays, and protections against severe poverty and starvation;

group rights that provide protection for groups against ethnic genocide and for the ownership by countries of their national territories and resources.

Source: WWDA, wwda.org.au/issues/unhrt/hrchart1/

CATEGORIES OF RIGHTS

And these rights... let’s respect them, ok? Let’s

not do the same as with the ten commandments!

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WEBSITES IN ENGLISH

United Nations

UN Officer of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Action Center

Discover Human Rights

Freedom House

Human Rights First

International Federation for Human Rights

WEBSITES IN ITALIANO

Uniti per I Diritti Umani

Amnesty International Italia

Amnesty International Sicilia

UNICEF Palermo

Unione Europea – Diritti Umani

Centro Regionale di Informazione delle Nazioni Unite (UNRIC)

Centro di Ateneo per i Diritti Umani, Università di Padova

Unione forense per la tutela dei diritti umani

UN High Commissioner for Refugees

RESOURCES

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

English version

Italiano version

UDHR Original Text & Plain Language Version

OTHER RESOURCES (ENGLISH & ITALIAN)

Human Rights Day

Convenzione Europea dei Diritti del’Uomo, Consiglio d’Europa

Le 5 W per i Diritti Umani, Web Radio (Italian)

Youth for Human Rights (Guide)

‘Discover Human Rights’ Training Manual

Toolkit “The right to food”, FAO

Diritto al cibo

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HUMAN RIGHTS WEEK 2014

Marking the 66th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that is celebrated on December 10th every year, CEIPES promoted this year several local and online activities that took place over a week – from 5 to 12 December – in order to raise awareness for the importance of human rights in today’s world.

The activities ranged from workshops and games for kids to a human rights treasure hunt for school pupils, and were conceived to reach the widest possible audience in order to draw attention to the cause of human rights. During eight days, there were constantly different activities to mark the week and we have invited everyone to join us in taking action for human rights!

We have contributed to some online campaigns of the United Nations, such as UNICEF’s #IMAGINE campaign. Finally, on Friday (12 December) we have launched the Newsletter of CEIPES, with the latest updates on our activities.

CEIPES HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIONS

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P r o d u c e d B y

CEIPES

Ana Catarina Silva

Patricia Rivera Prieto