HANDOUTS IN CLJ IN (Human Rights Education)
Chapter I . Concept of Human Rights
Introduction
The concept may be problematic in the Philippines but human rights are a vital
component of most modern democracies.
Human rights allow a person to live with dignity and in peace, away from the
abuses that can be inflicted by abusive institutions or individuals. But the fact remains
that there are rampant human rights violations around the world.
To further promote the importance of human rights in the Philippines, December 4
to 10 of each year is marked as National Human Rights Consciousness Week via
Republic Act. 9201.
December 19 is also considered as the United Nations Human Rights Day. It
commemorates the day the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights in 1948.
What are Human Rights?
Human Rights is defined as the supreme, inherent, and inalienable rights to life, to
dignity, and to self-development. It is concerned with issues in both areas of civil and
political rights, economic, social, and cultural rights founded on internationally accepted
human rights obligations to which the Philippine Government is a state party.
All Human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and inter-related.
International Human Rights Law
International humanitarian law is a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian
reasons, to limit the effects or armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or are no
longer participating in the hostilities and restricts the means and the methods of welfare.
International humanitarian law is also known as the law of war or the law of armed
conflict.
International humanitarian law is part of international law, which is the body of
rules governing relations between States. International law is contained in agreements
between States treaties or conventions, in customary rules, which consist of State
practice considered by them as legally binding, and in general principles.
International humanitarian law applies to armed conflicts. It does not regulate
whether a State say actually use force, this is governed by an important, but distinct part
of international law set out in the United Nations Charter.
International humanitarian law also called the law of armed conflict or the laws of
war regulates the conduct of warfare. Most of the applicable rules are to be found in the
four 1949 Geneva Conventions and their two 1977 Additional Protocols.
In addition, the 1907 Hague Conventions and the annexed Regulations lay down
important rules on the conduct of hostilities, notably on military occupation. There are
also several treaties that prohibit or restrict the use of specific weapons, including anti-
personnel mines, exploding or expanding bullets, binding laser weapons, and, most
recently in 2008, cluster munitions.
An important distinction exists between international armed conflicts and those of
a non-international character. The legal regulation of international armed conflicts is
more detailed and the protection afforded by the law greater than is the case with non-
international armed conflicts. A notable example is obligation on parties to an
international armed conflict to accord captured combatants the status of prisoner of war
(POW) with the associated rights and obligations. This prevents the prosecution of a
POW for the mere fact of participation in hostilities. There is no such right to POW
status in the law governing non-international armed conflicts (although captured fighters
are still entitled to legal protection).
The basis of international humanitarian law is principle of distinction, which
applies in all armed conflicts. This principle obliges Parties to a conflict (i.e. the warring
parties, whether states or non-state armed groups) to target only military objectives and
not the civilian population or individual civilian or civilian objects (e.g. homes, and
hospitals). Failing to make this distinction in military operations represents an
indiscriminate attack and is a war crime.
Similarly, although it is understood that it is not possible for parties to a conflict
always to avoid civilian casualties when engaged in military operations, international
humanitarian law also requires that parties to a conflict take precautions in any attack to
minimize civilian deaths and injuries. Attacks likely to a cause deaths or injuries among
the civilian population or damage to civilian objects which would be “excessive”
compared to the expected military advantage must be cancelled or suspended.
These rules are generally considered to be customary international law, which
binds every party to a conflict government or non-state armed group whether or not the
state on whose territory a conflict occurs has ratified the relevant treaty.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in
the history of human rights. Drafted by representative with different legal and cultural
backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the
United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 by General Assembly
resolution 217 (III) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all
nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally
protected. Since its adoption 1948, the UDHR has been translated into more than 500
languages - the most translated document in the world - and has inspired the
constitutions of many newly independent States and many new democracies. The
UDHR, together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its
two Optional Protocols (on the complaints procedure and on the death penalty) and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights an its Optional
Protocol, form the so-called International Bill of Human Rights.
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entered into
force in 1976. The human rights that the Covenant seeks to promote and protect include:
o The right to work in just and favorable conditions;
o The rights to social protection, to an adequate standard of living and to the
highest attainable standards of physical and mental well-being;
o The right to education and the enjoyment of benefits of cultural freedom
and scientific progress.
Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its First Optional
Protocol entered into force in 1976. The Second Optional Protocol was adopted in 1989.
The Covenant deals with such rights as freedom of movement; equality before the
law; the right to affair trial and presumption of innocence; freedom of thought,
conscience and religion; freedom of opinion and expression; peaceful assembly; freedom
of association; participation in public affairs and elections; and protection of minority
rights. It prohibits arbitrary deprivation of life; torture, cruel or degrading treatment or
punishment; slavery and forced labor; arbitrary arrest or detention; arbitrary interference
with privacy; war propaganda; discrimination; and advocacy of racial or religious hatred.
Human Rights Conventions
A series of international human rights treaties and other instruments adopted since
1945 have expanded the body of international human rights law. They included the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
(1965), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (1979), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), among others.
Human Rights Council
The Human Rights Council, established on 15 March 2006 by the General
Assembly and reporting directly to it, replaced the 60-year-old Un Commission on
Human Rights as the key UN intergovernmental body responsible for human rights. The
Council is made up of 47 State representatives and is tasked with strengthening the
promotion and protection of human rights around the globe by addressing situations of
human rights violations and making recommendations on them, including responding to
human rights emergencies.
The most innovative feature of the Human Rights Council is the Universal
Periodic Review. This unique mechanism involves a review of the human rights records
of all 192 UN number states once every four years. The Review is a cooperative, state-
driven process, under the auspices of the Council, which provides the opportunity for
each state present measures taken and challenges to be met to improve the human rights
situation in their country and to meet their international obligations. The Review is
designed to ensure universally and equality of treatment for every country.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights exercises principal
responsibility for UN human rights activities. The high commissioner is mandated to
respond to serious violations of human rights and to undertake preventive action.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the focal
point for United Nations human rights activities. It serves as the secretariat for the
Human Rights Council, the treaty bodies (expert committees that monitor treaty
compliance) and other UN human rights organs. It also undertakes human rights field
activities.
Most of the core human rights treaties have an oversight body which is
responsible for reviewing the implementation of that treaty by the countries that have
ratified it. Individuals whose rights have been violated can file complaints directly to
committees overseeing human rights treaties.
Human Rights and the UN System
Human rights is a cross-cutting theme in all UN policies and programmes in the
key areas of peace and security, development, humanitarian assistance, and economic
and social affairs. As a result, virtually every UN body and specialized agency is
involved to some degree in the protection of human rights. Some examples are the right
to development, which is at the core of the Sustainable Development Goals; the right to
food, championed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, labour rights, defined
and protected by the International Labour Organization, gender equality, which is
promulgated by UN Women, the rights of children, indigenous peoples, and disabled
persons. Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December. (Global Issues:
Human Rights, https:www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/human-rights/)
Rights can be classified according to following:
1. Individual Rights - are those rights being accorded to individuals.
2. Collective Rights - (also called “people rights” or “solidarity rights” are those
rights of the society that can be enjoyed only in company with others.
Examples are, Right to Peaceably Assemble, right to peace, right to development,
right to self-determination, and right to environment.
3. Civil Rights - are those which the law will enforce at the instance of private
individuals for the purpose of securing to them the enjoyment of their means of
happiness. They include the rights against involuntary servitude and imprisonment for
non-payment of debt or poll tax; the constitutional rights of the accused; the social and
economic rights; liberty of the abode and changing the same. Freedom of speech, of
expression, and the right to form an association are likewise civil rights, however, they
partake of the nature of political rights when they are utilized as a means to participate in
the government.
4. Political Rights - are those rights which enable us to participate in running the
affairs of the government either directly or indirectly. Example are Right to Vote, rights
to information on matters of public concern, and the right to initiative and referendum.
5. Economic and Social Rights - are those which the law confers upon the people
to enable them to achieve social and economic development, thereby ensuring them their
well-being, happiness and financial security. Examples are the right to property,
education, and promotion of social justice.
6. Cultural Rights - are those that ensure the well-being of the individual and
foster the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of national culture based on
the principle of unity and diversity in climate of free artistic and intellectual expression.
Human Rights Laws Resources and Implementations in the Philippines:
1. International Laws Adopted by the Philippines in the UN-CHR Laws
2. Philippine Constitution - Bill of Rights
3. Republic ACT Laws passed for Certain Rights
4. Executive Order and Memorandum Order Directives for Human Rights
Chapter II. The 1987 Philippine Constitution
Concept of Bill of Rights
It is a declaration and enumeration of a person’s rights and privileges which the
constitution is designated to protect against violation by the government, or by
individual or groups of individuals. It is a charter of liberties for the individual, and a
limitation upon the power of the State.
Classes of Rights
1. Natural rights those possessed by every citizen without being granted by the
State for they are given to man by God as a human being created to his image that he
may live a happy life.
2. Constitutional Rights conferred and protected by the Constitution.
3. Statutory Rights provided by law, promulgated by the law-making body and
consequently may be abolished by the same body.
Classification of Constitutional Rights
1. Political Rights the power to participate directly and indirectly in the
establishment or administration of the government.
2. Civil Rights a law which secures private individuals for the purpose of securing
enjoyment for their means of happiness.
3. Social and Economic Rights Intended t insure the well-being and economic
security of an individual.
4. Rights and the Accused intended for the protection of a person accused of any
crime.
Bill of Rights (Article III, 1987 Philippine Constitution)
Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due
process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.
What is Due Process?
Any deprivation of life liberty and property by the State is with due process if it is
done:
1. Under the authority of the law that is valid under the Constitution itself; and
2. After compliance with fair and reasonable methods of procedure required by law.
What constitutes Deprivation?
1. Deprivation of life the loss of any of the various physical and mental attributes
which man must have to live as human being. It is the very foundation of human rights.
2. Deprivation of liberty that one is duly prevented from acting the way he wishes
to do.
3. Deprivation of property when it its value is destroyed or its adaptability to some
legislation should be treated alike under circumstances and conditions both in the
privileges conferred and liabilities imposed.
What is the meaning of Equal Protection of Law?
It signifies that all persons subject to legislation should be treated alike under the
circumstances and conditions both in the privileges conferred and liabilities imposed.
Section 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any
purpose shall be inviolable, and no search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except
upon probable cause to be determined personally by the judge after examination under
oath or affirmation of complaint and the witnesses he may produce , and particularly
describing the place to be searches and the persons or things to be seized.
What is a Search Warrant and Warrant of Arrest?
Search Warrant
A search warrant is an order in writing issued in the name of the People of the
Philippines, signed by a judge and directed to a peace officer, commanding him to
search for personal property described therein and bring it before the court.
Warrant of Arrest
Arrest is the taking of a person into custody in order that he may be bound to
answer for the commission of an offense.
What is its scope of protection?
1. Persons applies to every citizen of the Philippines including aliens whether
accused of crime or not.
2. Houses not limited to dwelling but extends to a garage, warehouse, shop, store
and even a safety deposit vault.
3. Papers and effect include sealed letters and packages in the mail which may be
opened and examined only in pursuance of a search warrant.
When search and seizure unreasonable?
In general, all illegal searches and seizures are unreasonable while lawful ones are
reasonable.
Requisites for a valid Search Warrant or Warrant of Arrest:
1. Issued upon probable cause
2. The probable cause must be determined personally by the judge himself
3. Such determination of the existence of probable cause must be made after
examination by the judge of the complainant and the witnesses he may
produce.
4. Must particularly describe the place to be seach and the persons or things to be
seized.
When search and seizure may be made without warrant?
1. Where there is consent or waiver
2. Where there is an incident to a lawful arrest
3. In the case of contraband or forfeited goods being transsported
4. The possession of articles prohibited by law is disclosed to plain view or is open
to eye and hand
5. As an incident of inspection, ssupervision and regulation in the exercise of police
power
6. Routinary searches usually made at the border or a port of entry in the interest of
national security and for proper enforcement or customss and immigration laws.
When arrest may be made without warrant?
1. When, in his presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually
committing, or is attempting to commit an offense;
2. When an offense has in fact just has been committed and has been personal
knowledge of facts indicating that a person to be arrested has committed it;
3. When a person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a penal
establishment where he is serving final judgment or temporarily confined while
his care is pending, or has escaped while being transferred.
