Transcript Regionalteam

HUMAN RIGHTS
Introduction
VHS Hietzing, 27 October 2008
Dr. Sabine Vogler
Outline
 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
- Rationale / History
- 30 Articles
- Values
 How did it continue?
- Human rights treaties and bodies
- Regional documents
 Who commits human rights violations?
 How to improve the human rights situation?
 AI – Example of a NGO working for human rights
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights / 1
“Throughout the word, there are many people
who do not enjoy the bas rights which have come
to be accepted in many parts of the world as
inherent rights of all individuals, without which no
one can live in dignity and freedom.”
Eleanor Rooseveld, 1948
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights / 2
 Attempts in history to promote (human) rights
- Bill of Rights (England)
- Bill of Rights (United States)
- Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen (France)
- Covenant of the League of Nations
 In response to the atrocities of the 2nd World War
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights / 3
 Adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10
December 1948 ( Human Rights Day)
 Declaration (not a treaty itself, the Declaration
was explicitly adopted for the purpose of defining
the meaning of the words "fundamental
freedoms" and "human rights" appearing in the
United Nations Charter, which is binding on all
member states.)
 30 Articles
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights / 4
Article 1:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience
and should act towards one another in a spirit of
brotherhood.
Article 2:
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth
in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as
race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status.
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights / 5
 Political and civil rights
Ensuring things such as the protection of
peoples' physical integrity; procedural fairness
in law; protection from discrimination based on
gender, religion, race, etc; individual freedom of
belief, speech, association, and the press; and
political participation
 Economic, social and cultural rights
Socio-economic rights like the right to food, the
right to housing and the right to health.
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights / 6
Please assign the articles of the UDHR to
the two groups of
 Political and civil rights
and
 Economic, social and cultural rights
Find good short titles!
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UDHR / 7 - Values
 Human rights are universal.
= Rights inherent to all human beings, whatever
our nationality, place of residence, sex, national
or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any
other status.
 Human rights are inalienable.
= They should not be taken away, except in
specific situations and according to due process.
 Human rights are interrelated, interdependent
and indivisible.
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Continuation / 1 – Year 1966
 International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights 1966
- First Optional Protocol
- Second Optional Protocol
 International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights 1966
 UDHR + 2 Covenants incl. OP form the
International Bill of Human Rights
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Continuation / 2 – IC Content
 International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights 1966
 First Optional Protocol: enables the Human Rights Committee, set up
under the Covenant, to receive and consider communications from
individuals claiming to be victims of violations
 Second Optional Protocol: no one within the jurisdiction of a State
party to the Protocol may be executed
 International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights 1966
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Continuation / 3 – IC Limitations
 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
- contains no general provision applicable to all the rights provided for
in the Covenant authorizing restrictions on their exercise
- Certain rights may never be suspended or limited, even in
emergency situations (rights to life, to freedom from torture, to
freedom from enslavement or servitude, to protection from
imprisonment for debt, to freedom from retroactive penal laws, to
recognition as a person before the law, and to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion)
 IC on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- rights provided for therein may be limited by law, but only in so far as
it is compatible with the nature of the rights and solely to promote the
general welfare in a democratic society
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Continuation / 4 – Further covenants
 ICCPR and ICESCR entered into force in 1976
(3 months after the date of deposit with the Secretary-Gen.
of the 35th instrument of ratification or accession)
 Further HR treaties
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Racial Discrimination, 1965
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, 1979
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1984
- Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989
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Continuation / 5 – HR Treaty Bodies
 Human rights treaty bodies are committees of
independent experts that monitor implementation
of the core international human rights treaties)
 7 HR Treaty bodies, e.g.
- Human Rights Committee (CCPR)  ICCPR
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW)  Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women
- Committee Against Torture (CAT) 
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
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Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
Continuation / 6 – HR Treaty Bodies
 Consideration of State parties‘ reports
- Initial report, periodic reports (every 4-5 years)
- Government reports plus informations from NGOs, UN
agencies, academics, press etc.
 Consideration of individual complaints &
communications
- Complaints by individuals
- Inter-state complaints
- Inquiries (only CAT & CEDAW)
 General comments
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Continuation / 7 – Further HR Bodies
 Human Rights Council
- Subsidiary body of the General Assembly and
reports directly to it made up of 47 States (till 2006:
Commission on Human Rights)
- It ranks below the Security Council, which is the final
authority for the interpretation of the UN Charter
- New Universal Periodic Review: assess the human
rights situations in all 192 UN Member States
- Complaint Procedure
 UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights
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Continuation / 8 – Special Rapporteurs
 Special Rapporteur on
torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment
- Urgent Appeals
- Allegation Letters
- Country Visits
Manfred Nowak
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Continuation / 9 – Regional documents
 Africa
- African Charter on Human and
Peoples' Rights (1979)
- African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
- African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (2004)
 Americas
- American Convention on Human Rights (1978)
- Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
- Inter-American Court of Human Rights
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Who commits human rights violations?
 States?
 States party to the covenants, treaty?
 Non-state actors?
- Non-governmental entities (NGE)
- Multinational companies
- Individuals?
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How to improve the human rights situation?
 Further treaties
 Increase the number of ratifications
 Awareness-raising with people about their rights (human
rights education)
 Human rights violations:
- Supporting victims
- Highlighting the pattern of human
rights violations
 Supporting human rights defenders
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Group work
Two questions:
Two questions:
 60 years after the
UHDR – where do
we stand today?
 Is human rights a
concept of the
Western world?
 Is FGM (female
genital mutilation) a
human rights
violation?
 Is poverty a human
rights violation?
27 Oct. 2008 . VHS Hietzing. slide 21
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL / 1
AI Statute: vision and mission
Amnesty International’s vision is of a world in which
every person enjoys all of the human rights
enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and other international human rights
instruments.
In pursuit of this vision, Amnesty International’s
mission is to undertake research and action
focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of
these rights.
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL / 2
International Secretariat
AI section
AI Austria
Office
AI section
young amnesty
TUA
local group
AI structure
AI is a volunteers‘
based organisation!
Austria
worldwide
 ~ 60 local groups
 140 countries (> 50 sections)
 ~ 60 young amnesty groups
 ~ 1.1 million members
 ~ 10 action groups
 ~ 4.300 groups
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL / 3
Mobilizing the public
to put pressure on governments by
 public demonstrations
 vigils
 letter-writing campaigns
 human rights education
 awareness-raising events (e.g. concerts)
 direct lobbying
 targeted appeals
 email petitions and other online actions
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THANK YOU
FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
Sabine Vogler
c/o Amnesty International Austria
Trade Union Action Group
Moeringgasse 10/1
A-1150 Wien
Tel.: +43 664 17 19 299
e-mail: [email protected]
http://www.amnesty.at/gewerkschafterInnen/
http://www.amnesty.at/regionwien/
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