MOSAIC - The training kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work

2
125
By the beginning of the 21st century, the international community had recognised, to
different degrees, the following types of rights:
civil rights and liberties, such as the right to life, freedom from torture and slavery,
freedom of expression and religious belief, and rights to non-discrimination
and privacy;
legal rights, such as the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, the
right to a fair trial, the right to appeal and the right to be free from arbitrary arrest
or detention;
political rights, such as the right to participate in the government of the country,
the right to vote and the right to peaceful assembly;
social rights, such as the rights to education, to found and maintain a family, to
recreation and to health care;
economic rights, such as the rights to property, work, housing, a pension and
an adequate standard of living;
cultural rights, such as the right to participate (or not participate) in the cultural
life of the community; the right to non-discrimination could also be classed as
a cultural right, as could the right to education;
collective/solidarity rights, such as the rights to self-determination, peace, sustainable
development, a healthy environment and natural resources.
D 5.4.1 Generations of rights
The categories above are not precise. Many rights, such as the right to non-discrimination,
fall into more than one category or even all categories simultaneously. However,
they are one way of classifying the numerous different rights that have been acknowledged
by the international community, at least to some degree. Roughly speaking,
the first three categories (civil, legal and political rights) are termed first-generation rights;
the next three (social, economic and cultural rights) are termed second-generation
rights; and the last group are known as third-generation rights.
The notion of different generations of rights is little more than a rough statement
about the historical order in which the rights began to be discussed and recognised.
However, because of that fact, and perhaps also for political reasons, the different
generations of rights are offered different levels of protection under international law.
First-generation rights are well protected; second-generation rights allow governments
a great deal more flexibility and offer the individual less guarantee; third-generation
rights are barely protected under international law.
Q: Can you think of rights which fall into more than one category? Should
“freedom of association” be classified as a social right, an economic
right or a political one?
D 5.4.2 Positive and negative rights
Some commentators have tried to draw further distinctions between the generations
of rights, in particular using the notion of positive and negative rights. The suggestion
Themes