Why does human rights matter

All people everywhere in the world are entitled to them. No one can voluntarily give them up. Nor can others take them away from him or her. Human rights are indivisible. Whether civil, political, economic, social or cultural in nature, they are all inherent to the dignity of every human person. Consequently, they all have equal status as rights. There is no such thing as a 'small' right. There is no hierarchy of human rights. The realization of one right often depends, wholly or in part, upon the realization of others.

For instance, the realization of the right to health may depend on the realization of the right to education or of the right to information. All individuals are equal as human beings and by virtue of the inherent dignity of each human person. Every person has dignity and value. One of the ways that we recognise the fundamental worth of every person is by acknowledging and respecting their human rights. They recognise our freedom to make choices about our lives and to develop our potential as human beings.

They are about living a life free from fear, harassment or discrimination. Human rights can broadly be defined as a number of basic rights that people from around the world have agreed are essential. These include the right to life, the right to a fair trial, freedom from torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the rights to health, education and an adequate standard of living.

These human rights are the same for all people everywhere — men and women, young and old, rich and poor, regardless of our background, where we live, what we think or what we believe. This means that human rights involve responsibility and duties towards other people and the community. Individuals have a responsibility to ensure that they exercise their rights with consideration for the rights of others. Governments have a particular responsibility to ensure that people are able to enjoy their rights.

They are required to establish and maintain laws and services that enable people to enjoy a life in which their rights are respected and protected. For example, the right to education says that everyone is entitled to a good education. This means that governments have an obligation to provide good quality education facilities and services to their people.

Whether or not governments actually do this, it is generally accepted that this is the government's responsibility and people can call them to account if they fail to respect or protect their basic human rights.

These include rights and freedoms such as the right to vote, the right to privacy, freedom of speech and freedom from torture. The right to vote and take part in choosing a government is a civil and political right. This group includes rights such as the right to health, the right to education and the right to work. T he right to education is an example of an economic, social and cultural right.

One of the main differences between these two groups of rights is that, in the case of civil and political rights, governments must make sure that they, or any other group, are not denying people access to their rights, whereas in relation to economic, social and cultural rights, governments must take active steps to ensure rights are being fulfilled. As well as belonging to every individual, there are some rights that also belong to groups of people.

This is often in recognition of the fact that these groups have been disadvantaged and marginalised throughout history and consequently need greater protection of their rights.

These rights are called collective rights. For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples possess collective rights to their ancestral lands, which are known as native title rights. Rights that can only apply to individuals, for example the right to a fair trial, are called individual rights. Click here for a brief timeline of the evolution of human rights. Throughout history, concepts of ethical behaviour, justice and human dignity have been important in the development of human societies.

These ideas can be traced back to the ancient civilisations of Babylon, China and India. It unequivocally linked destitution and exclusion with discrimination and unequal access to resources and opportunities. The framers also understood that social and cultural stigmatization precluded full participation in public life, including the ability to influence policies and obtain justice. In other words, they made it clear that all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights were not only universal, but also indivisible and interrelated in their application?

This means that one set of rights cannot be enjoyed fully without the other. I bear witness to the interlocking characteristics of universal human rights and the perils of not recognizing their indivisibility. I grew up in Durban under a system of apartheid that institutionalized racial discrimination by denying equal rights and full citizenship to all those who were not white.

But South Africa's experience shows that with political will, international engagement and a commitment to act, discrimination, inequality and intolerance can be overcome and that political and civil rights can be affirmed against great odds. I also know first-hand the benefits of economic, social and cultural rights, including access to education, as well as the effects of obstacles to such access.

I was 16 when I wrote an essay about the role of South African women to educate children on human rights. When the essay was published, members of my community raised funds to send a promising but impecunious young woman to university. Despite their efforts and goodwill, I almost did not make it as a lawyer, because during the apartheid regime everything and everyone was segregated. However, I persevered. After graduation I sought an internship, which was mandatory under the law, but as a black woman I had to fight against multilayered discrimination and barriers.

Finally, a black lawyer agreed to take me on board, conditional on my promise not to become pregnant. I also started a law practice on my own, not out of choice but because nobody would employ a black woman lawyer.

In short, it is personal experience as much as conviction which prompts me to reaffirm that political and civil rights, as well as economic, cultural and social rights, depend closely on one another.

Let me simply reflect on education, its value in securing work, its positive impact on political and social participation, including access to health care, and the decisive role it plays in achieving equality between women and men. It follows that violations of one right enfeeble all rights and engender cascading repercussions. Currently, there is a growing understanding of how the components of human welfare and dignity, that is, human rights, development and security, are intrinsically interlinked.

Today, a wide body of international laws "spanning from human rights law to humanitarian, refugee and criminal law" enhances fundamental protection in times of war, peace and emergency. No vital set of rights has been overlooked.

The recent International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, and now the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights testify to the fact that the creation of norms is an ongoing process that remains open to refinement and new ideas, and innovative responses to current and emerging challenges.

The instrumental importance of human rights principles, such as equality, participation, accountability and the rule of law, is now widely accepted. Information and the freedom to organize and openly express views are vital for good policy-making and measurable implementation. Socio-economic rights are critical for the meaningful exercise of these freedoms, and gender equality has also been an indispensable precondition to maximizing and propagating education, development and the improvement of communities worldwide.

Yet, the universality of human rights is often questioned, more often by duty-bearers than rights-holders. Such skepticism does not often reflect frank conceptual objections to the challenge of universality, but is rather a means for some States to avoid giving effect to the whole set of human rights. However, I am persuaded that all people share the same basic ideas about what is needed to live a dignified life, free from want and fear.

While the promotion and implementation of human rights standards demand an awareness of context, the universality of the essential values and aspirations embodied in these commitments is beyond doubt. Attacks on the universality of rights often stand as barriers to human rights implementation.

Some critics maintain that the Universal Declaration went too far in promoting the freedoms and values of liberal traditions. Others hold that its framers did not go far enough and that liberty occupies a higher plane than material welfare.

The truth is that the Declaration is not merely congruent with some customs and foreign to other cultures; speaking to our common humanity, it drew its principles from many diverse traditions and made them more robust through a uniform codification.

The need for universal implementation However, for all the solemn commitments and normative advances, serious implementation gaps remain. Impunity, armed conflict, discrimination and authoritarian rule have not been defeated.

Regrettably, human rights are at times sidestepped to promote short-sighted security agendas. And, lamentably, a trade-off between justice and peace is often erroneously invoked when societies emerge from conflict and combatants return to their communities. Poverty, discrimination based on various grounds, such as race, ethnicity, gender, disability, health conditions or sexual orientation, and human rights violations occurring in the context of mass movements of people, remain of the gravest concern.

As we continue to progress in setting international standards, we should never lose sight of the fact that for individuals and communities around the world these standards matter the most at the national level.

Renewed efforts are needed to give effect to human rights on the ground. An indispensable first step is for States that have not already done so to ratify and unreservedly commit to the implementation of all international human rights treaties. In addition to absorbing international standards into the domestic legal systems, other necessary elements conducive to the respect of human rights include an independent judicial and legislative branch and national human rights institutions.

The impartial scrutiny undertaken by these institutions, as well as the media and other civil society organizations, is essential for ensuring accountability for actions taken or omitted. Yet, interpretation of international human rights law is not always uniform, with different approaches emerging to enforce human rights norms. Authoritative interpretations and assessments by independent mechanisms, such as treaty bodies, special procedures or regional human rights courts, provide the best guidance.

However, there is no escaping the fact that it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms. To this end, Governments should use all their available resources fairly and equitably.

Particularly in countries transitioning from violent conflict to peace, the judicial protection of economic, social, and cultural rights is of great strategic significance. The rights of minorities, women and the vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized groups, including their rights to access justice, restitution and compensation, must be safeguarded.

I also wish to point out that any comprehensive strategy to promote the universal implementation of human rights should include a human rights education component. By nurturing values and reinforcing attitudes which uphold the Universal Declaration's goals, human rights education underpins the common responsibility of actualizing those rights in every community.