Frequently Asked Questions on Human Rights-Based Approach

IHUMAN RIGHTS1 What are human rights?Human rights are universal legal guarantees protectingindividuals and groups against actions and omissions thatinterfere with fundamental freedoms, entitlements and humandignity. Human rights law obliges Governments (principally)and other duty-bearers to do certain things andprevents them from doing others.Some of the most important characteristics of humanrights are that they:Are universal—the birthright of all human beingsFocus on the inherent dignity and equal worth of allhuman beingsAre equal, indivisible and interdependentCannot be waived or taken awayImpose obligations of action and omission, particularlyon States and State actorsHave been internationally guaranteedAre legally protectedProtect individuals and, to some extent, groupsHuman rights standards have become increasingly welldefi ned in recent years. Codifi ed in international, regionaland national legal systems, they constitute a set of performancestandards against which duty-bearers at all levelsof society—but especially organs of the State—can be heldaccountable. The fulfi lment of commitments under internationalhuman rights treaties (see annex I) is monitored by independentexpert committees called “treaty bodies,” whichalso help to clarify the meaning of particular human rights. 1Their meaning is also elaborated by individuals and expertbodies appointed by the United Nations Commission onHuman Rights (a Geneva-based body composed of 53United Nations Member States), known as “special procedures,”2 and of course through regional and national courtsand tribunals. There are other human rights legal systemsas well. For example, the International Labour Organization(ILO) conventions and standards specifi cally protect labourrights, and international humanitarian law applies to armedconfl icts, overlapping signifi cantly with human rights law.Among the rights guaranteed to all human beings under internationaltreaties, without any discrimination on groundssuch as race, colour, sex, language, political or other opinion,national or social origin, property, birth or other status, are:The right to life, liberty and security of personFreedom of association, expression, assembly andmovementThe right to the highest attainable standard of healthFreedom from arbitrary arrest or detentionThe right to a fair trialThe right to just and favourable working conditionsThe right to adequate food, housing and socialsecurityThe right to educationThe right to equal protection of the lawFreedom from arbitrary interference with privacy,family, home or correspondenceFreedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment or punishmentFreedom from slaveryThe right to a nationality1Treaty bodies do this through recommendations directed to specifi c States whenreviewing their compliance with their treaty obligations and through “general comments”(or “general recommendations”) on the meaning of particular rights. Seethe treaty bodies database of the Offi ce of the United Nations High Commissionerfor Human Rights (OHCHR) at http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/treaty/index.htm and OHCHR Fact Sheet No. 30, The United Nations Human Rights TreatySystem, http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/publications/docs/fs30.pdf.2Examples include the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoymentof the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, theSpecial Rapporteur on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment, and the Working Group on the Right to Development. See OHCHRFact Sheet No. 27, Seventeen <strong>Frequently</strong> <strong>Asked</strong> <strong>Questions</strong> about United NationsSpecial Rapporteurs, http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/publications/docs/factsheet27.pdf.1