Political and Public International Law › Public International Law

J. International Human Rights Law

Basic Principles of Human Rights

Human rights are:

  • Universal - Human rights are universal because they are based on every human being's dignity, irrespective of race, color, sex, ethnic or social origin, religion, language, nationality, age, sexual orientation, disability or any other distinguishing characteristic. (HR Handbook, p. 21)
  • Inalienable – No person may be divested of his or her human rights, save under clearly defined legal circumstances. (HR Handbook, p. 22)
  • Indivisible and Interdependent - Each human right entails and depends on other human rights, violating one such right affects the exercise of other human rights. (HR Handbook, p. 22)
  • Non-discriminatory - The right to equality and the prohibition of discrimination, explicitly set out in international and regional human rights treaties, are central to the protection of all human rights. (HR Handbook, p. 23)

Rights Classification

  • First generation rights consist of civil and political rights;
  • Second generation rights consist of economic, social and cultural rights;
  • Third generation rights consist of the rights to development, to peace, and to environment. (Vasak)

Basic Principles of Human Rights

Human rights are:

  • Universal - Human rights are universal because they are based on every human being's dignity, irrespective of race, color, sex, ethnic or social origin, religion, language, nationality, age, sexual orientation, disability or any other distinguishing characteristic. (HR Handbook, p. 21)
  • Inalienable – No person may be divested of his or her human rights, save under clearly defined legal circumstances. (HR Handbook, p. 22)
  • Indivisible and Interdependent - Each human right entails and depends on other human rights, violating one such right affects the exercise of other human rights. (HR Handbook, p. 22)
  • Non-discriminatory - The right to equality and the prohibition of discrimination, explicitly set out in international and regional human rights treaties, are central to the protection of all human rights. (HR Handbook, p. 23)

Rights Classification

  • First generation rights consist of civil and political rights;
  • Second generation rights consist of economic, social and cultural rights;
  • Third generation rights consist of the rights to development, to peace, and to environment. (Vasak)

International Human Rights Law v. International Humanitarian Law

IHRL IHL
Both are aimed at protecting the individual and apply simultaneously in times of international & non-international armed conflicts. Both are aimed at protecting the individual and apply simultaneously in times of international & non-international armed conflicts.
Protects the individual from abusive or arbitrary exercise of power by State authorities Regulates the conduct of hostilities and the protection of persons in situations of armed conflict
Human rights law generally applies to persons within a State’s territory and jurisdiction. A State may also owe obligations outside its territory where it exercises power or effective control over persons or territory; the scope of extraterritorial obligations depends on the applicable right and treaty. The personal, material and territorial applicability of IHL essentially depends on the existence of a nexus with an armed conflict
Human rights law focuses specifically on human beings IHL also directly protects, for example, livestock, civilian objects, cultural property, the environment and the political order of occupied territories.
Human rights law is binding only on States IHL is binding on all parties to an armed conflict, including non-State armed groups
Human rights law applies irrespective of whether there is an armed conflict. In a public emergency threatening the life of the nation, a State may derogate from certain human-rights obligations only to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation and subject to the applicable treaty conditions; non-derogable rights remain protected (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Art. 4(1)–(2)). IHL applies only in armed conflicts and is specifically designed for such situations. Therefore, unless expressly foreseen in the relevant treaty provisions, the rules and principles of IHL cannot be derogated from

Authorities

  • HR Handbook, Sec. 21
  • HR Handbook, Sec. 22