Principles of Human Rights

Right

An entitlement to act or be treated in a particular way that has the highest priority.

Duty

An obligation to act, or refrain from acting, in a particular way to satisfy someone’s right.

Human Rights

Universal and inalienable entitlements to act or be treated in a particular way, always existing because they are inherent to all humans.

Human Duty

a human obligation that the international community has to satisfy human rights

Civil and Political Human Rights

Rights that entitle humans to participate in the civic and political life of their society without discrimination or repression from the state.

examples of civil and political human rights

free speech, right to vote, freedom of assembly, privacy

Economic and Social Human Rights

Rights that entitle humans to equal social and economic conditions without exploitation from the market.

examples of economic and social human rights

healthcare, education, food and water, work

new wave of human rights

indigenous rights, LGBTQ+ rights, digital privacy, climate justice

Declaration/Resolution

a non-legally binding intl human rights doc

Convention/Covenant/Charter

a legally binding intl human rights treaty that involves signatories and ratification

The International Bill of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

an intl declaration that affirms the civil, political, social, and economic rights of all human beings

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

an intl treaty that commits states to respect the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, electoral rights and rights to due process and a fair trail

The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

An international treaty that commits states to respect labor rights, the right to health, the right to education, and an adequate standard of living.

Universalism

The view that all humans possess an equal set of rights regardless of culture.

Relativism

The view that human rights are culturally relative and that no single set of rights applies universally.

Western Intervention

Justifications for imperialism based on real or perceived human rights violations (ex. US’s ‘civilizing’ mission trying to free Afghan women during the war)

Western Hypocrisy

Western criticisms of human rights violations in the global south that the West is also guilty of (ex. 9/11 unleashed human rights abuses: torture became standard “enhanced interrogation”)

Relative Universalism

The incorporation of cultural relativism into a universal framework of human rights, distinguishing between concept, interpretation, and implementation.

Concept

an abstract and general statement of an orienting value for a human right (ex. Democracy isn’t a Western imposition, much of Africa want democracy, democracy is largely accepted universally)

Interpretation

varying explanations of the meaning of the concept’s limits as a human right (ex. global support for free speech, but opposition to some forms of speech such as hate speech)

Implementation

the legal forms in which the interpretation of human rights are expressed (ex. Thailand violates human rights with heavy lèse-majesté laws to restrict other political groups from gaining power)