Leaving cert - Politics and society (human rights)

Human rights

the basic universal rights and fundamental freedoms that all humans are entitled to simply because they are human, often guaranteed by law

Needs

requirements necessary to survive and function properly

Needs (examples)

Food, shelter, clean water

Wants

Goods and services that we want but are not needed for survival and development

Wants (examples)

Designer clothes, newest phones, fancy sports car

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

International document that states the fundamental freedoms and basic rights that all human beings are entitled to, adopted by the UN in Dec/1948, creation motivated by the events of 2 world wars

Universal rights

Apply to everyone, everywhere

Civil and political rights

Typically restrict the power of the government in interfering with the rights of an individual (Eg: right to privacy, autonomy, participation in political life), AKA first generation rights

Economic, social, cultural rights

Term that refers to the group of rights relating to economic, social or cultural aspects of human life, AKA second generation rights

Covenants

Additional agreements signed in the 1960s by many states that expanded on the basic rights contained in the UDHR (Eg: International Covenant on Civil and Political rights)

Civil rights

Guarantee personal liberties, fair treatment and social equality for all individuals

Civil rights (example)

life, liberty and security/protection from violence/freedom of religion/right to privacy

Political rights

Enable individuals to participate freely in the political process

Political rights (example)

Freedom of expression/association and assembly/right to take part in government/vote

Economic rights

Create necessary conditions for prosperity and wellbeing

Economic rights (example)

Right to property/work/fair hours and wages/trade union rights

Social rights

Necessary for adequate standard of living

Social rights (example)

Right to health/food/shelter/social care/education

Cultural rights

Right to participate freely in the cultural life of the community

Cultural rights (example)

Right to share in scientific advancement/protect scientific, literary or artistic works

Principles of human rights (5)

Universal, Equality and non discrimination, dignity and respect, inalienable, indivisible

Universal

Apply to everyone everywhere, all of us have human rights

Equality and non discrimination

We are all equal as human beings and we should have equal access and opportunity to exercise our rights, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, etc.

Dignity and respect

Each of us has value as a human being, human rights are based on the principle of dignity and how we treat each other, we must treat people in a way that respects their worth

Inalienable

Cannot be taken away without good reason and due process, it is a violation when these rights are taken away (Eg: right to liberty can be restricted if a person is found guilty by a court of law), this principle is applied differently to different categories of rights

Indivisible

Our rights are interdependent, our enjoyment of one right depends on the others (Eg: without food/good health we cannot fully exercise our right to education/work)

Absolute rights

Can never be taken away under any circumstances (Eg: freedom from torture)

Limited rights

Can be restricted under special circumstances (Eg: if you commit a crime your right to freedom will be temporarily suspended, during public health crises freedom of movement can be restricted)

Qualified rights

Can be withheld or altered in special circumstances only when absolutely necessary in a democratic society, interference with these rights typically happens to protect the common good (Eg: freedom of movement can be restricted during a pandemic)

Rights holder

identifies a person who has rights, can be individuals or groups

Duty bearer

Responsible for respecting, promoting and fulfil human rights in some way

Human rights obligations (3)

Respect, protect, fulfil

Respect

refrain from interfering with the enjoyment of the right

Protect

Prevent others from interfering with enjoyment of the right

Fulfil

Adopt measures towards full realisation of the right

immediate obligations

duty bearers are obliged to respect and protect these rights with immediate effect (eg: right to life, freedom from violence, freedom of expression)

progressive realisations

duty bearers have an obligation to work progressively towards the realisation of certain rights (usually economic/social/cultural), must be fulfilled to the best of their abilities with their available resources (eg: housing, education, healthcare)

UN Convention of rights of the child (UNCRC)

legally binding international agreement, establishes the rights of every child

Irish document on right to education

Article 42 of Bunreacht na hÉireann

State obligations on right to education (4)

Availability, accessibility, acceptability, adaptability

Availability

must be available in sufficient quantities and with enough resources/facillities

Accessibility

must be accessible to everyone, particularly the most vulnerable groups, should be within safe physical reach, must be affordable for all

Acceptability

education must be relevant, culturally appropriate and of good quality

Adaptability

education must be flexible and adapt to the needs of changing societies and communities and respond to the diverse needs of their students

Equality of condition

egalitarian principle, seeks to achieve equality in material and non material conditions of individuals or groups in society

Equal status acts 2000 - 2015

Gives us legal protection against discrimination outside of the workplace in Ireland, gives a legal definition of discrimination in Ireland

Discrimination

When a person is treated less favourably than another person in the same situation based on one or more of the 9 grounds of discrimination

9 grounds of discrimination

Gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race, membership of the Traveller community

Direct discrimination

When someone is treated unfavourably due to certain characteristics/origin (Eg: not allowing a child from the Traveller community to enroll in school because of their community)

Indirect discrimination

When a practice/policy/rule which applies to everyone in the same way but has a worse effect on some people than others, placing them at an unfair disadvantage (Eg: Irish being a mandatory subject in school)

Schools cannot discriminate based on

Admission of a student, access of a student to a facility/course/benefit provided by the school, terms/conditions of participation in the school, expulsion of/sanctions on a student

Human Rights institutions in Ireland/Northern Ireland

Irish Human Rights and equality commission (IHREC), Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

IHREC

Ireland's equality board for EU anti-discrimination measures, promotes/protects human rights and equality, the national human rights organisation in Ireland, gives public human rights info, conducts hr research in Ireland

Northern Ireland Human rights commission

Established as part of the NI peace process, gives advice to gov departments on how to comply with hr obligations, conducts investigations into possible hr violations, gives public info on their rights

Ombudsman for children (OCO)

Investigates complaints made by young people against public entities, advises government on how to ensure laws protect young people, educates public on rights of young people, conducts research to better understand hr issues for young people

Periodic reports

Regular reports that states must present to the UN to show how they are implementing their treaty obligations (Eg: UNCRC), typically reviewed every 4-5 years