Human rights are considered inalienable, however, the creation of conditions for their implementation may require the adoption by interested entities, which, first of all, include states, of individual legal acts. Which of them can be considered fundamental when it comes to international partnership with the participation of modern countries of the world? What is meant by human rights in these sources of norms?
What are the features of understanding the essence of human rights?
Before examining the various international human rights instruments, we will examine what these privileges can be in accordance with the common views of researchers.
So, the popular point of view is that they should be understood as personality traits that reflect its freedom, as well as are necessary conditions for its life, participation in relationships with other people, society, government institutions. They characterize the legal status of a person that he has in relation to the state and uses in order to fulfill his needs, as well as to participate in various communications within the socio-economic, political, cultural spheres.
The most important property of human rights is inalienability. They must be implemented at any time at the request of their carrier, regardless of his social status, political views, citizenship.
Types of Human Rights
If you try to classify the rights in question using various international acts, you can determine that they are divided into the following main categories: political, cultural, socio-economic.
Regarding political rights: such can be represented by a human right to freedom of expression, association, as well as a meeting with other people. Cultural rights may be represented by the right to education, as well as freedom of creativity. With regard to socio-economic - including the right to property, housing, as well as social security.
The role of the state in ensuring the implementation of human rights
Obviously, the state plays a key role in creating the conditions for the realization of these rights. International acts on the human right to social security and other privileges include provisions according to which the authorities of the countries of the world are responsible for the implementation of the relevant areas of state development policy. These obligations of the authorities can be spelled out at the level of national regulations, in many cases - in the Constitution of the country. Human rights enshrined in the relevant legal acts should be realized on the basis of social institutions established by the state - social, political, legal.
Thus, the main thing for the authorities of the country is not the proclamation of following the relevant standards or with the fact that they include international acts, but the creation of conditions for a person to realize his capabilities in fact. Moreover, if this condition is actually met, then the declaration of commitment to certain provisions adopted at the level of national or international legal acts will not be required or will be formal in nature, while citizens of the country will be confident that they can implement their basic rights.
National and international human rights law and practice
The most important aspect of a person’s realization of his rights is the practice of applying those norms that include international human rights instruments. If a citizen of a state feels that his rights guaranteed by national or international law have been violated, he can contact various authorities. For example, to the Commissioner for Human Rights or to the judiciary. In the event that at the level of state bodies operating in his country, a person cannot achieve the restoration of his rights, he can apply to international structures, such as, for example, the European Court of Human Rights.
Classification of international human rights standards
International human rights acts (a general description of them will be discussed later in the article) include norms that are classified into the following main categories:
- principles;
- norms;
- standards.
International Human Rights Principles
As for the former, those most often become the fundamental principles of international law. For example, in the UN Court of Justice Statute there is a wording that there are principles of law that are recognized by civilized nations. The principles in question can be recorded in a variety of sources of law. For example, in declarations, regulations, rules. It can be noted that the relevant sources of law, as a rule, are advisory, that is, they are not binding.
At the same time, from the point of view of international dialogue, it is always welcome if the relevant international acts on the human right (to social security, for example) will be consistent in the provisions of national sources of law of those states that took part in the development of relevant principles and their enforcement the level of certain sources of norms. A country that has proclaimed adherence to international principles of providing a person with socio-economic guarantees will thus be considered a responsible and active international partner if it can adopt a law obliging certain state institutions to create conditions for citizens to exercise the corresponding socio-economic rights.
Human Rights Norms and Standards
In turn, international norms and standards in terms of ensuring the protection of human rights, as a rule, already have legal force - but provided that the sources of law in which they are fixed are ratified by one or another state. We can talk about such regulatory acts as a convention, pact, international protocol, treaty. In some cases, a condition for the ratification of an agreement may be the participation of the state in a particular international association. For example, if we consider such structures, then such a union could be the Council of Europe.
The rights expressed in various varieties are fixed at the level of a large number of sources of law, adopted at the level of international cooperation of modern countries of the world. Which of them can be considered fundamental? Probably, these will be, first of all, international acts adopted at the level of the largest organization at the appropriate level - the UN. Consider the specifics of these regulatory sources in more detail.
International Human Rights Standards: UN Declaration
One of the fundamental acts regarding the consolidation of human rights guarantees at the international level is the declaration of human rights, which was adopted by the UN in 1948. This document was developed and adopted taking into account the experience accumulated in various countries of the world related to the study of various legal relations in the humanitarian sphere, taking into account the experience of implementing such legal norms at the level of individual states.
The document under consideration is part of the international Bill of Human Rights. It also includes various pacts, also adopted in the framework of international cooperation of modern states. Among those:
- An international pact establishing civil as well as political rights;
- An international pact defining social, economic as well as cultural human rights.
Both documents entered into force in 1976. These international acts on the right of a person and a citizen to social security, access to political privileges and opportunities for cultural development were adopted with the aim of supplementing and detailing the UN fundamental document. Moreover, the relevant sources of law have the status of covenants, that is, they are binding on states that have ratified the relevant rules of law. Consider their features in more detail.
International Sources of Norms: Political Rights Pact
The source of norms under consideration formulated specific lists of human rights, as well as the mechanisms by which they should be implemented. This pact fixes the following human rights:
- for life, freedom, personal integrity;
- on a human attitude;
- not to be subjected to unlawful arrest;
- to move, as well as the choice of place of residence;
- to freedom of speech, religion;
- the organization of meetings, the establishment of associations;
- to join one or another organization;
- to vote in the framework of the general election;
- to protection in case of belonging to minorities.
International Sources of Norms: Economic Rights Pact
If we consider international acts on the law of social security - one of the key will thus be the Covenant on Social, Economic, and Cultural Rights, adopted, like the previous source of norms, at the UN level. The relevant document includes the following list of rights:
- for self-determination;
- to work;
- on fair as well as favorable working conditions;
- on the formation of trade unions;
- to hold strikes;
- on social security;
- to protect against family, motherhood, children;
- an adequate standard of living, housing, food;
- to achieve the highest health indicators;
- on education - including taking into account the plan to introduce free education in accordance with the Covenant;
- to participate in cultural development;
- to use the results of progress in the field of science;
- to protect interests that are related to their own creativity.
Monitoring compliance with the obligations of countries that have ratified the Covenant is carried out by a special Committee under the UN.
Thus, if we consider the key international acts on labor, the general characteristics of which allow them to be assessed very highly, from the point of view of establishing legal norms that are binding on modern states, the source in question can be called one of the key legal acts.
It can be noted that both Covenants, the features of which we have examined above, have been ratified in fact by most countries in the world. Thus, international acts on labor and various social guarantees - if we consider the provisions adopted at the UN level, have a very wide jurisdiction.
Human Rights Acts: An International Level of Jurisdiction
In addition to the sources of norms that we studied above, there are a large number of other legal acts adopted at the international level as part of the regulation of legal mechanisms for the implementation by states of human rights protection. These include a large number of Conventions - On the Elimination of Discrimination, On Combating Torture and Inhuman Treatment, On the Rights of the Child, and On the Protection of the Rights of Workers.
If we consider international acts at the level of declarations, then we can pay attention to the UN Declaration of Social Progress, which was adopted in 1969. It says that the main goal of social progress is to improve the material and spiritual level of a person, provided that he realizes his rights and freedoms.
There are a large number of sources of norms adopted at the level of the International Labor Organization, UNESCO and other structures formed in the process of interstate partnership. There are international acts on the human right to a decent standard of living , one of the conditions of which is the availability of opportunities for the realization of inalienable social rights.
Human Rights Acts: Regional Level of Jurisdiction
There are various regional legal acts - for example, the African Charter on Human Rights, the American Declaration of Rights and Duties, and the European Convention on Human Rights. Their jurisdiction extends mainly to states located in a particular region.
At various levels of partnership between modern states, international acts on the right of ownership , on security, on the protection of nature are in force . Given the development of world socio-political processes, those sources of norms that are in effect today can be supplemented with new ones, adjusted, improved with a focus on adapting to the specifics of international cooperation at various levels.