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Human Rights 101
Key Concepts and History
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
October 19, 2012
Co-Hosted by USHRN Member, IITC
What are Human Rights?
 A Set of Values: Protections, freedoms,
and social benefits needed to live in
dignity and to our fullest potential
 A Set of Tools needed to promote and
protect human dignity
The Spectrum of Rights
 Development Rights
 Environmental Rights
 Cultural Rights
 Social Rights
 Economic Rights
 Political Rights
 Civil Rights
Key Concepts
 Who enjoys human rights?
 Rights are Universal
 When do you get them and how long do you enjoy them?
 Rights are Inalienable
 What types of rights are there?
 Civil, Political, Social, Economic, Cultural, Environment,
Development
 Which are more important?
 Indivisible and Interdependent
Human Rights: A Common Language
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The essence of human rights is the inherent ability to live in
dignity.
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Human rights include economic, social, and cultural rights.
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Human rights applies to all humans, irrespective of race,
ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or immigration status, and
recognizes our intersectional identities.

International Human rights law often provides a higher
standard of protection than provided by U.S. law.

Human rights create state obligations to respect, protect and
fulfill
Human Rights: A Common Language
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Human Rights are Transformative - proceeds
from the position that the struggle for human
rights and dignity must move societies toward
the establishment of social institutions, structures
and social relationships that reflect a real
commitment to human dignity and social justice.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
 A vision statement
 Covers all Rights
 Declaration of Principles
 Non-binding (although it is considered international
customary law)
The Human Rights Framework
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Treaties articulate specific human rights
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Treaties are legally binding once they are ratified by governments
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Each treaty has an oversight body called a treaty committee (i.e. the
committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination)
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Countries are required to submit reports and make oral presentations
to the committee every couple of years
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Shadow reporting parallels this reporting process, undertaken by civil
society (social justice groups)
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Some treaty committees also allow individuals to submit individual
complaints
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Treaty committees issue general recommendations to clarify the
meaning of different rights and make recommendations on how to
protect peoples rights
Key Human Rights Treaties
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial
Discrimination (CERD)
International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW)
International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
International Convention Against Torture and other cruel, Inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment (CAT)
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant
Workers and Members of their Families
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Value of Using Treaties
 Ratified Treaties create affirmative obligations
 The state is forced to acknowledge and remedy the problem
 Ratification creates a process by which periodically we can
review progress
 With ratification we can call for implementation at national and
local levels
Human Rights Tools and
Mechanisms
• Shadow Reporting
• Human Rights Documentation
• Early Warning Measures and Urgent Procedures
• Independent Experts on specific rights (Special Rapporteurs)
• Special Reports
• Tribunals
• The Inter-American Commission and Court on Human Rights
Civil Society In Action
•Although human rights are universally accepted and
are the primary responsibility of governments,
individuals have the obligation to monitor and put
pressure on governments to protect and fulfill those
rights.
•There is no one way to realize human rights, it takes
innovation and collective strategies to build systemic
change and we hope that our discussions today will
put us on that path.
THANK YOU