Human Rights Lecture Flashcards

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the nature, history, and legal framework of human rights as discussed in the lecture, including specific Australian and international legal instruments and cases.

Human Rights

Fundamental moral principles for certain standards of human behaviour that everyone is entitled to, characterized as universal, inherent, inalienable, and indivisible.

Universal

A key characteristic of human rights meaning they are enjoyed by all individuals regardless of nationality, gender, race, or status.

Inherent

A key characteristic of human rights meaning they are a birthright of all humans simply by reason of their humanity.

Inalienable

A key characteristic of human rights meaning people cannot agree to give them up or have them taken away.

Indivisible

A key characteristic of human rights suggesting that all human rights are equally important.

Slavery

A type of forced labour in which a person is considered to be the legal property of another.

Slave Trade Act 1807 (UK)

Legislation that officially abolished the British slave trade and was applied to the entire British Empire, including Australia.

Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Australia)

Requires companies with revenue over $100,000,000$ to report on how they address and regulate modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains.

Trade Union

An organisation of workers created to preserve and further their rights and interests, such as minimum wages and working conditions.

Universal Suffrage

The right of all citizens to vote in political elections regardless of status, gender, race, or creed.

Self-Determination

A collective right of people to determine how they will be governed or their political status based on territory or national grouping.

Environmental Rights

Rights defined by the UN as any proclamation of a human right to environmental conditions of a specified quality.

Paris Agreement

A 2015 international plan to stabilise global warming below $2$ degrees above pre-industrial levels.

Peace Rights

The right of citizens to expect their government to do all in its power to maintain peace and work towards the elimination of war.

First Generation Rights

Civil and political rights belonging to all humans, such as freedom from slavery and equality before the law.

Second Generation Rights

Economic, social, and cultural rights such as the right to education, social security, and an adequate standard of living.

Third Generation Rights

Environmental, peace, and self-determination rights that emerged recently and belong to people as a whole rather than individuals.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

A soft law document adopted by the UN General Assembly that sets out fundamental human rights to be universally protected.

State Sovereignty

The supreme, exclusive authority a state possesses to govern its own territory and population without external interference.

ICCPR (1966)

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; a hard law multi-lateral treaty overseen by the Human Rights Committee.

ICESCR (1966)

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; a hard law treaty overseen by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

A process involving the examination of the human rights records of all $193$ UN member states every $4$ years.

Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

An independent statutory organisation established in 1986 to promote and protect human rights in Australia.

Express Rights

Human rights explicitly stated and directly protected within the Australian Constitution, such as freedom of religion.

Implied Rights

Rights not articulated explicitly in the Constitution but found by superior courts to be suggested by other provisions, such as freedom of political communication.

Separation of Powers

The constitutional division of power between the Parliament (legislature), the Executive (ministers), and the Judiciary (judges).

Mabo Case

A High Court case that ruled the Murray Island people had native title, extending rights to Indigenous Australians to claim title based on connection to land.

Charter of Rights

A list of human rights a nation decides to protect through an act of parliament to restrict the power of future governments.

Queen v Tang (2009)

A High Court case that reaffirmed a $10$-year jail sentence for a brothel owner involving debt bondage and illegal visas.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

An international organisation created by the Rome Statute (1998) with the ability to prosecute for slavery and sexual slavery.