CHAPTER 1

An Overview of the International Bill of Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, is the clearest outline available of what the international community considers to be the basic human rights to which all people on this earth are entitled, simply because they are human.

A declaration is a statement of principles, with moral force, but lacking legal force. In broad terms, international human rights concern the relationship between a state and its people, and represent claims that people can make on their governments. Two treaties were drafted to turn the principles in the Universal Declaration into legal obligations for the states that ratify them.* These two treaties are called the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR or the Covenant). By 1976 enough countries had voluntarily agreed to meet the obligations contained in these treaties (had ratified them) that each treaty became legally valid—that is, enforceable—with regard to the countries that ratified it. Most countries have ratified both Covenants. (Signing a treaty signals the State’s intention to comply with its provisions. Ratification makes this intention compulsory, by adding the legal obligation to comply with the treaty.) A state that ratifies a human rights treaty is known as a State Party to that treaty. Each State Party must report periodically to the committee set up by the United Nations to monitor States Parties’ compliance with the provisions of the treaty.

The Universal Declaration has been the core source for human rights law since it was adopted. The importance of the Universal Declaration has been continually emphasised by the UN and its member nations since 1948, and almost every country in the world is a member of the UN. The rights in the Universal Declaration entitle us to freedoms, opportunities and support that we need in order to stay alive, to have our human dignity respected, and to enjoy a decent life. Among the rights proclaimed in it are the freedoms to have our own thoughts and opinions, the right to express them to other people, and the right to associate with others. We exercise these civil and political (CP) rights when we strive on our own or co-operate with others to seek greater respect for human rights. Among other civil and political rights are: the right to life; freedom of conscience, religion, movement and peaceful assembly; protection against torture and cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment, including slavery; access to remedies for violations of rights; prohibition of arbitrary arrest or detention; fair trials in criminal cases; personal liberty and security; protections against arbitrary interference with one’s family, home or reputation; the cultural rights of minority populations; and the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs and in genuine democratic elections.

To lead a full life, however, we also require fulfilment of the economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights in the Universal Declaration. Among the economic, social and cultural rights proclaimed in the Universal Declaration and guaranteed in the ICESCR are the rights of everyone to adequate health care, education, food, clothing and housing. The Covenant also includes human rights to safe and fair conditions of work, marriage and family rights, and the right to receive assistance during economic hardship and in one’s old age.

Other rights recognised in both the Universal Declaration and the Covenant include rights to: a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of one’s family; safe and healthful working conditions; participation in the cultural life of the community; and the right to benefit from scientific progress and from one’s own creative ideas. The right to join a trade union is in the Covenant (as well as in the UDHR). At the same time, it is also a civil/political right, illustrating how human rights are inseparable. The provision in the Covenant adds the right to strike (with certain limitations), plus rights for unions to function freely and to form federations with other unions. Civil and political rights are strongly linked to economic, social and cultural rights; full enjoyment of one set of rights cannot occur without implementation of the other. It is often said that human rights are interdependent, indivisible and inseparable.

Together, these three documents—the Universal Declaration, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights—are referred to as “the International Bill of Rights”. They are the most important documents in modern international human rights law, because they are the broadest in scope and their provisions apply to everyone. By an accident of history, the rights that are grouped together in the Universal Declaration were divided up and assigned to one of the Covenants or the other. One consequence of dividing human rights between the two Covenants is what is sometimes referred to as the “second-class status” of economic, social and cultural rights, in comparison to civil and political rights. This is the idea that civil and political rights—important rights like freedom of speech or freedom of religion, or freedom from arbitrary arrest and torture—are more important than having enough to eat or the opportunity to learn how to read and write. In a specific situation, having and exercising freedoms (an element of civil and political rights) may temporarily be more important than having enough food or water (an element of economic, social and cultural rights), but during the lives of most human beings, both categories of rights are inter-dependent.

It is worth remembering that CP and ESC rights both appear in the Universal Declaration, and the UDHR makes no distinction between them. The two International Covenants have the same legal status. In addition, the Covenants themselves sometimes mix the “two kinds” of human rights. Trade union rights are found in the ICESCR, even though these rights share many similarities with traditional civil and political rights; trade union rights are based on the civil and political rights of freedom of association and freedom of assembly. Language is considered to be part of culture; yet language rights and other cultural rights are included in the ICCPR, as well as in the ICESCR.

The development and expansion of legally enforceable human rights did not stop with the International Bill of Rights. The notion that some groups of people, some human rights and some violations need special attention has led to the drafting of a variety of other human rights agreements. There is widespread consensus that four treaties, in addition to the two International Covenants, are especially important. These four treaties, followed by the date they entered into force, are the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD, 1969), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, 1981), the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Torture Convention, 1987), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1990). Of these Conventions, CEDAW and the CRC are particularly important for economic, social and cultural rights. Like the Universal Declaration, CEDAW and the CRC do not maintain an artificial distinction between types of human rights. They combine civil/political and economic/social/cultural rights within one document. CEDAW and the CRC are discussed in Chapter 11 of this Handbook.

To comply with their human rights treaty obligations, countries must ensure that the rights of their people are respected, protected and fulfilled. Each government has a responsibility to ensure that its national society offers adequate opportunities for people to enjoy the benefits of Covenant rights. This duty involves ensuring that there are no discriminatory or unfair barriers in the private sector or in public services that prevent people from getting a good education or making an adequate living, whether by obtaining and holding a decent job, running their own business, producing their own food, or making an honest living in some other way.

Governments also directly plan and pay for some services required to fulfil Covenant obligations. To ensure that everyone benefits from Covenant rights, in most countries governments play a key role in providing or monitoring such programmes and services as education, welfare assistance, hospitals, preventive health measures, and the supply and treatment of water. When a government overlooks discrimination that denies equal economic, social or cultural opportunities, or reduces the quality of an existing social service without ensuring that an adequate substitute is in place, it is quite likely that the government is violating its obligations under the Covenant. (Violations of the Covenant are discussed in Chapters 7 and 8 of this Handbook.)

* Some scholars maintain that the Universal Declaration’s importance as the foundation of modern human rights gives it the status of customary law, which is binding on all countries. Chapters 2 and 4 touch on this issue further.