Human Rights
Introduction
Human rights refers to "The basic rights and freedoms, to which all humans are entitled, these include the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law."
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Says that "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."
(Universal Declaration Of Human Rights 1948)
We are human beings that are entitled to live a life with rights, to be treated as an equal and with dignity in all walks of life.
History of Human Rights
After World War II the term human rights were globally introduced. At the end of the Second World War, countries were rebuilding their governments, their economies, and rebuilding their lives again. The world did not want to see another World War, and major countries for example the United States of America, the Soviet Union, China, France, and the UK agreed to establish an international organisation; The United Nations to work on maintaining international peace and security, and find solutions for global economic and humanitarian problems.
The United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948, which listed human rights that each individual in the world should have.
The Universal Declaration set the benchmark for many treaties and agreements to be created in the later years. The key treaties linked to human rights adopted under the auspices of the United Nations are:
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) 1966
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) 1965
- Convention Against Torture (CAT) 1984
- Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989
The above treaties encouraged many countries in the world to ratify and produce new legislation to protect their citizens.
In Europe after the Second World War, the European countries were rebuilding, and a Council of Europe was established in 1948 to achieve a greater unity between its members for the purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles which are their common heritage and facilitating their economic and social progress.
The European Convention on Human Rights was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe in 1950. This convention led to the establishment of the European Court of Human Rights, to protect individuals from human rights violations in Europe. The convention is the only international human rights agreement that offers a high degree of individual protection. Today the European Court of Human Rights is based in Strasbourg France, and since 1998 the court has introduced full time judges to address cases brought by member state parties or by individuals from the member states.
Northern Ireland Human Rights Legislation
To be protected as a human being with rights, in Northern Ireland, we are supported by the Human Rights Act 1998 which came into effect on October 2000. This Act is an Act of the UK Parliament, which has incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into law in UK.
The adoption of the European Convention on Human Rights has allowed people from Northern Ireland to take cases to the European Court of Human Rights since 1960 if they felt their human rights were being upheld in the UK Court. Today individuals living in Northern Ireland can now make a complaint to their local courts on the failure of their human rights being upheld by Public Authorities, or/and functions of a public nature. The introduction of the Human Rights 1998 Act has allowed this. However if an individual feels their human rights have been violated by their member state; the UK Government then they have to go to the European Court of Human Rights
Human Rights and Disability
Human rights instruments at international, European and national level all make it clear that disability is a human rights issue. Yet, all too often people with disabilities are wrongly placed outside the human rights framework. In fact, people with disabilities have human rights like everyone else, and face specific human rights and equality issues.
“On paper, [people with disabilities] have enjoyed the same rights as others; in real life, they have often been relegated to the margins and denied the opportunities that others take for granted.”
UN Secretary General Kofi Anan
