Human Rights Definitions

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September 2011

Human Rights Definitions

Contents Page

Human rights 1

Discrimination 2

Human rights law 3

States obligations under human rights law 4

Gaps in protection of human rights 4

1. Human Rights

Human Rights: These are the rights people are entitled to simpl because the

are human beings! irrespecti"e of their age! citi#enship! nationalit! race!ethnicit! language! gender! se$ualit! or abilities%

Human rights are:

Universal: Human rights appl to all people simpl on the basis of being human%

Inalienable:This means that human rights belong to e"er person and cannotbe ta&en from a person under an circumstances%

Indivisible:This means that each human right has e'ual importance% ( person

cannot be denied one right because someone decides it is )less important) thananother human right%

Interdependent: This means that all human rights complement each other% *ore$ample! our abilit to participate in our go"ernment is directl affected bour right to e$press ourself! to get an education! and e"en to obtain thenecessities of life such as the right to water! to food! to housing and to health%

Non-derogable: +ertain human rights ha"e been considered so important thatthe cannot be limited or suspended under an circumstance% ,nl four rights are

non-derogable: the right to life! the right to be free from torture and otherinhumane or degrading treatment or punishment! the right to be free fromsla"er or ser"itude and the right to be free from retroacti"e application of penallaws .ie using a law to prosecute a crime that happened before that law wasintroduced/%

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. Dis!rimination

Dis!rimination: discrimination is when someone is treated less fa"ourabl! withan unreasonable or disproportionate impact! because of a particular characteristic

eg age! se$! ethnicit! se$ualit etc%

"ge dis!rimination: is when someone is treated less fa"ourabl simpl becauseof their age%

Dire!t age dis!rimination: (ge discrimination can be direct! for e$ample! deningolder people access to healthcare simpl because the are old%

Indire!t age dis!rimination: (ge discrimination can be indirect! such as notcollecting data on H0 infection in women and men o"er 4% This failure to collect data

results in the e$clusion of older people from H0 and (0DS pre"ention programmes! and!therefore! discriminates against them%

#ultidimensional dis!rimination: The discrimination that older men and

women face is often comple$! being based on two or more factors! such as ageand gender! ethnic origin! language spo&en! where the li"e! disabilit! po"ert!

se$ualit! H0 status or literac le"els%

Cumulative dis!rimination: The cumulati"e impact of a lifetime ofdiscrimination can be de"astating in old age% omen! for e$ample! ma ha"efaced a lifetime of gender-based discrimination that has serious conse'uences inold age% The ma ha"e been denied an education as girls! married when thewere oung! forced to ha"e man children close together! subected to phsicaland se$ual abuse! denied access to decent or paid wor& and be unable to own orinherit propert or accumulate other assets%

"geism: Thisis the stereotping and preudice against older people that can leadto age discrimination% (t one end of the scale ageism ma seem harmless! for

e$ample! when older people are patronised on T! in films and in ad"ertising%Howe"er! research b 5ale 6ni"ersit showed that negati"e stereotpes of olderpeople in the 6S had a harmful impact on older peoples memor! balance ande"en how long the li"ed for%i(t the other e$treme! older people! especiallwomen! can be accused of witchcraft because of age and gender stereotpes andthen forced out of their homes or e"en murdered%

$%ualit&: The notion that all human beings are entitled to the same human rights

without distinction% 0t does not necessaril mean treating people the same butrather ta&ing whate"er steps are necessar to ensure that e"erone has! for

e$ample! the same access to ser"ices or e'ual opportunities%

"ge e%ualit&: (ge e'ualit is securing e'ualit of participation in societ forpeople of e"er age%

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. ,tates/ obligations under human rights la(

Rights holder: 9"er human being! because of the mere fact that he or she is ahuman being! is entitled to his or her rights without discrimination and is a rightsholder%

Dut& bearer: The state is the dut bearer under human rights law% States ha"e a

dut to ensure that human rights are respected b state authorities or stateagents themsel"es and b citi#ens! corporations and other non-state actorsoperating within their boundaries%

,tates have a dut& to:

Respe!t: Go"ernment obligation to refrain from acti"el "iolating human rights%

Prote!t: Go"ernment obligation to pre"ent third parties .eg companies! =G,s!paramilitar groups/ "iolating human rights%

0ulfil: Go"ernment obligation to ta&e action to ensure enoment of rights%

iolation of human rights: hen the agents of a state fail to ensure .b doingsomething or failing to do something/ the human rights laid out in internationalhuman rights law%

Redress: +ompensation of some &ind for a rights "iolation%

2. 3aps in human rights prote!tion

Implementation gap: ;ac& of practical action to realise the rights in a human

rights treat%

Information gap: ;ac& of information about how rights are being protected%

#onitoring gap: ;ac& of monitoring of how rights are being protected%

Normative gap: ;ac& of protection against a particular practice that "iolateshuman rights% 9"en when general protection of a right e$ists in human rights law!

a new human rights instrument ma be necessar to clarif how rights specificallappl to an affected group%

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Human Rights Definitions