HUMAN RIGHTS NOTES (FINALS)

UDHR preamble:
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members
of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have
outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall
enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the
highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion
against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in
fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights
of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in
larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United
Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental
freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for
the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every
individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by
teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive
measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and
observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of
territories under their jurisdiction.

RIGHT TO SELF DETERMINATION:

All peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their
political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
What is Self-determination?

Essentially, the right to self-determination is the right of a people to determine its own destiny. In
particular, the principle allows a people to choose its own political status and to determine its own
form of economic, cultural and social development. Exercise of this right can result in a variety of
different outcomes ranging from political independence through to full integration within a state.
The right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person
and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and
political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized.
OBLIGATION OF STATE:
1. Respect
2. Protect
3. Fulfill

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The state is the guarantor; accountability for violation
GR: State is liable
Elements of International State Responsibility
1.
2.

Exception: when done by private individual, provided the State enacted a law and established
judicial remedies for the rights violated

Derivative State Responsibility (Principal/Accomplice/Accessory):

RPC (who are liable? Principal/Accomplice/Accessory)

Sources of international law

Is CHR a constitutional body? NO. It is an independent constitutional office, it is a constitutional

body; investigatory body

Programs and services of CHR

What are HRV under CHR jurisdiction ? Civl and Political Rights

Human Rights Principles:

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What are the Basic Principles of the Human Rights Framework?
The human rights framework protects civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. But no
matter what kind of right is at issue, there are basic principles that are always part of human rights
standards and implementation. These principles include:
Universality: Human rights must be afforded to everyone, without exception. The entire premise of
the framework is that people are entitled to these rights simply by virtue of being human.
Indivisibility: Human rights are indivisible and interdependent, which means that in order to
guarantee civil and political rights, a government must also ensure economic, social and cultural
rights (and visa versa). The indivisibility principle recognizes that if a government violates rights
such as health, it necessarily affects people’s ability to exercise other rights such as the right to life.
Participation: People have a right to participate in how decisions are made regarding protection of
their rights. This includes but is not limited to having input on government decisions about rights.
To ensure human rights, governments must engage and support the participation of civil society
on these issues.
Accountability: Governments must create mechanisms of accountability for the enforcement of
rights. It is not enough that rights are recognized in domestic law or in policy rhetoric, there must

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actually be effective measures put in place so that the government can be held accountable if
those rights standards are not met.
Transparency: Transparency means that governments must be open about all information and
decision-making processes related to rights. People must be able to know and understand how
major decisions affecting rights are made and how public institutions, such as hospitals and
schools, which are needed to protect rights, are managed and run.
Non-Discrimination: Human rights must be guaranteed without discrimination of any kind. This
includes not only purposeful discrimination, but also protection from policies and practices which
may have a discriminatory effect.

VULNERABLE SECTORS ACCDG TO INT’L LAW:

1. Youth / first time voters
2. Senior Citizens
3. Internally displaced person due to calamity or war
4. Indigenous people
5. People with disabilities
6. Migrant workers
7. Persons under detention

Internatiional Definition:
Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical continuity with
pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves
distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing on those territories, or parts of them.
IPRA Definition:
h) Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples - refer to a group of people or
homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by other, who have continuously
lived as organized community on communally bounded and defined territory, and who have,
under claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed customs, tradition and
other distinctive cultural traits, or who have, through resistance to political, social and cultural
inroads of colonization, non-indigenous religions and culture, became historically differentiated
from the majority of Filipinos. ICCs/IPs shall likewise include peoples who are regarded as
indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, at the
time of conquest or colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures,
or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of their own social,
economic, cultural and political institutions, but who may have been displaced from their
traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains;
four most invoked elements of being an IP are:
1. Priority in time
2. Voluntary perpetuation of cultural distinctiveness
3. An experience of subjugation, marginalization and dispossession
4. Self-identification

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RIGHTS OF IPs (see IPRA)

Four fold rights of IPs:

1. Right to ancestral land
2. Right to Self-governance and empowerment
3. Social Justice and Human Rights
4. Cultural Integrity

CHILDREN’S RIGHT
Survival
Development
Protection
Participation
*Welfare of children are always a priority
PD 603 (PRINT)
RA 9775 (PRINT)
RA 7610 (SEE CODAL)
RA 9262 (SEE CODAL)
"Children" refers to those below eighteen (18) years of age or older but are incapable of
taking care of themselves as defined under Republic Act No. 7610. As used in this Act, it
includes the biological children of the victim and other children under her care.
RA 8370
RA 9344
RA 10627
RA 8552
RA 8972
RA 8980
RA 9231
RA 9523
RA 10152
RA 10157
RA 10165
RA 9208

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WOMEN’S RIGHT

RA 9262
Basic Rights of women:
1. Right to own property
2. Right to quality education
3. Right to employment
4. Right to greater political participation
5. Right to adequate social, health and other support services
6. Freedom from violence
RA 6955 – Matching Filipina with foreigner
RA 7192 –
RA 7877 –Anti sexual harassment
RA 8171 –Repatration of Foreign women
RA 8353 –ANTI-RAPE LAW, Marital Rape
RA 8369
RA 8505 – RAPE VICTIM
RA 9208
RA 9710
RA 9710 – LIKE CEDAW
RA 9995
RA 10151
RA 10158
RA 10195
RA 10361