THEORY AND CONCEPT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Meaning and Nature of Human Rights

Human Rights Education – is defined as the training, dissemination, and

information efforts aimed at the building of a universal culture of human
rights through the imparting of knowledge and skill and the molding of
attitudes

Elements of human rights education:

1. The acquisition of knowledge and skills about human rights
2. The development of respectful values and attitudes and changed
behavior that reflects human rights values
3. The motivation of social action and empowerment of active citizenship
to advance respect for the rights of all

Human Rights – rights that are inherent to all human beings regardless of
race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status

Human Rights Law – laws that legally guarantee human rights to each
and every individual

Classification of Human Rights

According to aspect of life:

1. Civil rights – are those rights 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
Example: rights against involuntary servitude, rights against
imprisonment for non-payment of debt or a poll tax, the constitutional
rights of the accused
2. Political rights – are those rights which enable us to participate in
running the affairs of the government either directly or indirectly
Example: right to vote, right to information on matter of public
concern, right to initiative and referendum
3. Economic rights and social rights – are those rights 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
Example: right to property, right to education, and promotion of
social justice
4. Cultural rights – are those rights 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 in
diversity in a climate of free artistic and intellectual expression

According to source:
 1. Natural rights – are God-given rights, acknowledge by everybody to
be morally good. They are unwritten but they prevail as norms of the
society.
Example: rights to life, dignity and self-development
2. Constitutional rights – are those rights which are conferred and
protected by the Constitution and which cannot be modified or taken
away by the law-making body
3. Statutory rights – are those rights which are provided by law
promulgated by the law-making body and, consequently, may be
abolished by the same body

Generations of human rights:

1. First-generation – sometimes called “blue” rights, deal essentially
with liberty and participation in political life; they are fundamentally
civil and political in nature
2. Second-generation –sometimes referred to as “red” rights; are
related to equality and began to be recognized by government after
World War II; they are fundamentally economic, social, and cultural in
nature
3. Third-generation – sometimes called the “green” rights; are those
rights that go beyond the mere civil and social, as expressed in many
progressive documents of international law

Basic Human Rights and Their Categories:

1. Civil and Political Rights – right to life, prohibition of torture,
prohibition of slavery, right to personal liberty and security, right to a
fair trial, right to private and family life, freedom of conscience and
religion, freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly,
freedom of movement, right to vote, and right to property
2. Economic, social, cultural rights – rights to work and free choice
of employment, just and favorable conditions of work, form trade
unions, social security, adequate standard of living, health, and
education, and take part in cultural life and enjoyment of scientific
purposes
3. Solidarity/Collective rights – rights to self-determination, rights of
indigenous peoples or minorities, and right to development
4. Equality and nondiscrimination – substantive right

Basic Characteristics of Human Rights:

1. Inherent – they are not granted by any person or authority
2. Inalienable – they cannot be rightfully taken away from an individual
3. Imprescriptible – they cannot be lost even by a long passage of time
4. Indivisible – human rights are not capable of being divided; they
cannot be denied even when other rights have already been enjoyed
5. Interdependent – the fulfillment or exercise of a right cannot be had
without the realization of other rights
6. Universal – they are available to all human being irrespective of their
origin, status or condition, or place where they live
 7. Fundamental – without them, the life and dignity of man will be
meaningless

Main approaches adopted to explain the nature of human rights:

1. Philosophical approach – also known as the theoretical approach

The Philosophical approach has been categorized into five theories:

a. The Natural Rights Theory
b. The Legal Rights Theory
c. The Historical Theory of Rights
d. The Social Welfare Theory of Rights
e. The Idealistic Theory of Rights

2. Pragmatic approach – every right, whether it be perceived as an

inalienable right or not, is valid and effective only through some
process or recognition by an institution

Theories of Human Rights

Theory – is a set of hypothetical facts, principles, or circumstances that
attempts to provide a rational explanation of the cause and effect and
relationships among a group of observed phenomena

Theories that are relevant to the nature of human rights:

1. Natural Rights Theory – it states that individuals enter society with
certain basic rights and that no state or government can deny the
rights that individuals already have; this theory describes human
being as the creature of nature in relation to natural law
2. Legal Rights Theory – human rights are created and maintained by
the state; it provides that the state is the only source of the rights of
an individual, and outside the state, an individual has no rights at all
and can never claim rights against the state
3. Historical Theory of Rights – provides that rights are the result of
history, originating from customs passed down through generations;
this theory provides that human rights consist of long-standing
customs that have been concretized to form specific rights that are
maintained by generations by habitually following them
4. Social Welfare Theory of Rights – also known as the expediency
theory; states that customs, traditions, and natural rights are
conditioned by society
5. Idealistic Theory of Rights – also known as the personality theory
of rights; it states that the inner development of a man develops his
full potential

Concepts of Human Rights

Humanist – is a democratic and ethical life stance that affirms that human
beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning to their own lives
Dialectal – used to describe theories, methods, and situations in resolving
opposing factors

Concepts or views on human rights:

1. Western view – states that human rights are not permanent and have
no external criteria for cosmic order; it also states that individuals
only have their human rights inside the land covered by their states; it
provides that human rights have been born one after the other out of
the agreement of individuals and the ruler of the states for the
division of power, decisions in the parliament, and charter
declarations
2. Socialist view – states that humans’ only rights are those that enable
them to provide their basic needs and nothing more; believes that
human rights are not conferred to an individual by its nature but a
product of the processes that played a role in history with individuals
who wanted to end the communist classes in the society
3. Religious view – provides that human rights belong to all living
things, may it be a human being or not; provides that human rights
originate from the ideas of mercy, kindness to others, and pity on
human beings

References:
1. Human Rights Education – A Textbook for Criminal Justice Education Students and
Law Enforcers 2022 Edition by Danilo L. Tancangco and Dioscoro C. Orlain Jr.
2. Human Rights Education 2021 Edition by Renato M. Abastillas, Jr., Eric Paul D.
Peralta, Eleno O. Peralta and Nephtaly Joel B. Botor