Human rights are the basic rights that all people are entitled to by virtue of being human. Most importantly, human rights are inalienable, indivisible, and interdependent. Human rights are inalienable in that they inherently belong to each person and cannot be taken away from him or her. They are indivisible in that all human rights are equally important and as crucial as other rights. Finally, human rights are interdependent as a complete framework of interconnected and related rights.
There are fundamental legal guarantees that enable individuals and groups to live in dignity and that safeguard all people against violations of fundamental freedoms and human dignity. Human rights are defined and set forth in international, regional, and national laws and policies. The obligation to respect and protect human rights falls upon states and their actors. Violations of human rights occur when illegal acts of violence are committed by state or private actors that the government cannot or fails to control.
Interpersonal violence is often employed as a part of many human rights violations. This essay discusses the philanthropic, religious, and legal foundations of human rights. It also describes various human rights violations where interpersonal violence is used.
History of Human Rights
Recognition of the importance of human rights began early in history through philosophical and religious teachings. Aristotle postulated a natural moral order that transcends sociohistorical context to apply universally to everyone. The Roman Stoics similarly advanced a natural and universal code that counseled living in harmony with the divine order. In the 17th century, philosopher John Locke presented the concept that, long before and irrespective of state acknowledgment, all people possessed natural rights. These natural rights to life, liberty, and property stemmed from natural law, under which all people owed a duty of self-preservation to God. The 18th-century philosopher Immanuel Kant posited that morally autonomous and rational people will act according to a self-imposed categorical imperative. This categorical imperative denotes the moral autonomy and equality of all rational beings and forms the basis for laws established by such individuals. These rights-based philosophies were complementary to the religious ideologies of human worth.
Many religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, have principles relating to the responsibility or duty toward others, as well as on human dignity. Tenets of human rights can be found in various religious teachings. For example, the Bible quotes Jesus as saying, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). The Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a, says, “What is hateful to you do not do to your neighbor.” Chaitanya, a Hindu philosopher, believed that the only caste was that of humanity. The Qur’an also recognizes one common humanity: “God knows best about your belief, and you are equal to one another, as far as belief is concerned” (4:25).
Beginning in the 13th century, countries began adopting legal instruments to protect certain rights and limit the government’s power. The Magna Carta (1215) represented an early effort to establish restrictions on the English government’s authority and set forth important concepts of due process. Other instruments soon followed that protected the rights to be free from arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and to freedom of speech and prohibited cruel or unusual punishments. For example, the 1776 Declaration of Independence asserted the equality of all men and their inalienable rights, including “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The French Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen (1789) established the rights to liberty, security, and due process, to possess property, and to have freedom of expression, as well as equality before the law.
Following World War I, countries sought to achieve greater international cooperation by creating the League of Nations in 1919. This organization addressed specific human rights, such as the rights of minorities, labor standards, slavery, and the treatment of former colonies, but it lacked the same human rights emphasis found later in the United Nations. The League of Nations’ activities ceased after it failed to prevent World War II. The United Nations (UN) was the international community’s subsequent undertaking to form an international body to promote international peace, security, and cooperation and better interstate relations, as well as respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. On October 24, 1945, the UN Charter entered into force. According to the charter, member states are to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination based on race, sex, language, or religion. Of the 193 nations in the world, 192 have ratified the charter and become member states of the United Nations.
On December 10, 1948, the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR sets forth comprehensive human rights and fundamental freedoms in 30 articles and was the first international document to recognize that all people have human rights regardless of who they are or where they live. In 1966, the UN General Assembly adopted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Together, the UDHR, ICESCR, and the ICCPR and its two accompanying protocols constitute the International Bill of Human Rights. Four other conventions, together with the International Bill of Human Rights, comprise the core human rights treaties. These instruments include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Unusual, Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. Other thematic documents followed, and today there are over 60 international human rights instruments promulgated by the UN that contain many protections against forms of interpersonal violence.
Human Rights Protections against Interpersonal Violence
When the state fails to prevent, stop, or punish acts of interpersonal violence, it is a violation of human rights. Certain populations are more vulnerable to acts of interpersonal violence. They may not be guaranteed equal and effective protection of the law. For example, migrant workers and immigrant women have the right to effective protection from violence, physical injury, threats, and intimidation, yet they may be reluctant to seek protection from the law because of their immigration status. The universality of human rights guarantees that all people are entitled to protection of their human rights.
Right to Equality and Freedom from Discrimination
When people experience violence based on a specific characteristic, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national origin, property, or birth or other status, which impairs or nullifies their enjoyment of rights and freedoms, it is a violation of their rights to equality and freedom from discrimination.
One of the most pervasive causes of violence is racial discrimination. Colonialism and slavery illustrate the widespread discrimination that perpetuated massive human rights violations against entire populations. Human beings were enslaved, killed, tortured, and subject to numerous other forms of violence. Today, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance emerge as genocide, economic disparities, marginalization, and social inequities. Apartheid in South Africa is another example where legalized racism enabled White rule to dominate and terrorize Africans, Asians, and people of mixed descent for years. Today, in the context of post–September 11, discrimination is manifested in the hate crimes perpetrated against immigrants, refugees, and religious minorities.
All people are born equal and are entitled to equal protection before the law. For instance, when a state punishes strangers who rape, but not those who commit date or marital rape, it is failing to provide all women with equal protection of the law. The right to equality, however, may require legitimate preferential treatment, such as affirmative action, to rectify discrimination. Human rights law recognizes that everyone is equal and entitled to human rights without discrimination and provides that governments should condemn and seek to eliminate all forms of discrimination.
Right to Life
The violence that claims a life can take the form of suicide, war-related death, or homicide. According to a 2002 report of the World Health Organization, violence is one of the leading causes of death for individuals 15 to 44 years old and kills more than 1.6 million people per year.
Human rights law protects the right not to be arbitrarily deprived of life. This right is so fundamental that it may not be suspended, even during times of emergency. While the right to life is protected in many human rights documents, it is not an absolute right. For example, violence may be justified when used in self-defense or to protect another person. Killings are expected during wartime, but certain groups, such as those who do not participate in the hostilities, wounded or sick combatants, and prisoners of war, are protected.
In addition, there are still countries that impose the death penalty. The ICCPR does not directly prohibit the death penalty, but it places limitations on its application. For example, it prohibits the execution of juveniles under 18 years of age and pregnant women. The death penalty may only be executed under a final judgment issued by a competent court for the most serious crimes, and those sentenced to death are entitled to seek pardon or commutation of their sentences. Increasingly, full respect for the right to life is being realized around the world through the abolition of the death penalty. Fifty-seven countries have ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR aimed at the abolition of the death penalty, signaling their commitment to end this form of punishment. There is a growing movement toward abolition of the death penalty, as seen by policies of the European Union, which requires abolition by all member states, and U.S. state moratoria suspending the use of capital punishment.
Right to Liberty and Security
Everyone has the right to liberty and to be free from arbitrary arrest and detention. Some scholars and states have posited a broad interpretation of the right to liberty and security to include freedom from torture and violence. Constitutional protections against violence can be found under the right to security of the person. The Bill of Rights of the Constitution of South Africa (1996) states that, “everyone has the right to freedom and security of the person, which includes the right . . . to be free from all forms of violence from either public or private sources; not to be tortured in any way; and not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading way” (Art. 12(1)). International and domestic authorities have recognized that violence against women constitutes a violation of this right. The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women has stated that gender-based violence transgresses several rights, including those of liberty and security of person. Officials in Australia and Canada have also found that violations of the right to security of person encompass crimes of sexual violence.
Freedom from Slavery
Violence and coercion are used to enslave people for exploitative purposes. It is the abusive means and conditions under which the person is forced to work that constitute slavery. Typically, slavery exists when a person is forced to work under threat, is controlled or owned by another person, is treated as property, and has his or her freedom of movement restricted. It is estimated that more than 12 million people are living in situations of forced labor. While transatlantic slavery and the slave trade have been long abolished, modern forms of slavery still exist. Some examples of slavery today include forced recruitment into combat, enforced prostitution, worst forms of child labor, slavery through descent, trafficking in persons, and early and forced marriage. Another example is debt bondage, in which humans are sold or deceived into entering situations where they are forced to repay debts through labor and are subject to threats and physical and sexual violence. The debts, which are heavily inflated and accrue continuously, are unreasonable and the labor highly undervalued. Thus, the debtor is in effect enslaved, never knowing when he or she will repay the loan.
Everyone is entitled to live a life free from slavery and forced labor, a right that may never be suspended or limited.
Freedom from Torture or Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Torture is the physical or mental severe pain or suffering used to elicit a confession or information, as punishment or intimidation, or for any reason based on discrimination. Torture is done or instigated by a public official or someone acting in an official capacity, or else carried out with that person’s consent or acquiescence. Violent acts that constitute torture vary, but include severe beatings, electroshocks, sexual violence, mutilation, and simulating suffocation. Torture does not include the pain or suffering that arises from lawful punishment. Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment includes acts that may not rise to the level of torture, but still violate a person’s rights.
Torture includes not only the acts that occur in the public sphere, but also acts committed by private actors when the government knows and fails to prevent such acts. For example, domestic violence is perpetrated using violent acts, such as battering, acid burning, “honor” killings, sexual assault, and psychological abuse. Domestic violence is torture when the government has not provided effective protection and the violence is of the type and severity to constitute torture.
Every person is entitled to be free from this type of violence. Freedom from torture, and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment is a right that may not be suspended or limited, even in emergencies. Torture is a human rights violation and a crime under international human rights law.
Freedom of Assembly and Association; Freedom of Opinion and Expression; Freedom of Belief and Religion; Right to Participate In Government
Although each of these freedoms and rights is separate, violations of one are often similar to or carried out in connection with another. States and those acting on their behalf use attacks, intimidation, and harassment of individuals and groups to repress these rights.
Everyone has the right to establish and operate groups without state interference. Organizing over an issue is a critical means of impacting policies and representatives. For example, trade unions are an important tool for advocating for labor rights in the workplace. These rights are denied when governments and private actors use intimidation and harassment to shut down activities or associations. Members may be harassed individually or collectively. Likewise, the right to peaceful assembly is also impaired when officials use violent means to end such activities. The right does not extend to violent assemblies, however, and authorities may use force commensurate to the threat as a last resort to reduce harm. States sometimes use informal and violent means of censorship, such as personal attacks, to halt or penalize publication. This is a violation of the right to freedom of expression. People have the right to access information and to express their ideas as a move toward democracy and public participation. Freedom of expression must be balanced against other human rights, and there are restrictions on some expressions, such as hate speech, fighting words, or inciting to violence. Religious intolerance is manifested through abuses such as forced conversions, violent repression of worshipers, death sentences, summary executions, arrests, attacks, and destruction of religious property. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, and this encompasses the right to nonreligious beliefs, such as nontheistic or atheistic beliefs. This right may never be suspended or limited. Finally, governments and opposition parties violate the right to participate in government when they use violence to intimidate or stop people from voting or running in elections.
Right to an Adequate Standard of Living
The right to an adequate standard of living comprises several rights, such as the rights to food, water, social services, clothing, and housing. Sometimes, the violation of one of these rights can indirectly lead to violence. For example, adequate housing is an important right that provides safety, shelter, privacy, and personal and communal space. When a person is deprived of adequate housing, it increases his or her susceptibility to violence. For example, domestic violence, rape, or harassment can occur inside the home before, during, or following an eviction. Other factors that increase vulnerability to violence in inadequate housing include age, ethnicity, migrant status, armed conflict, poverty, disabilities, and HIV/AIDS.
Embedded within the right to an adequate standard of living is the right to health. While this generally addresses the issues of provision of health services, prevention and treatment of diseases, and hygiene and infant mortality, it also encompasses the treatment of injuries that result from violence. These include not only physical harm, such as bodily injuries, but also psychological or mental harm. It is important to note that the ICESCR provides for the “highest attainable standard” of health, a benchmark that can vary depending on whether it is in relation to an individual country or a global consensus.
Conclusion
All people are entitled to human rights and fundamental freedoms. Human rights are universal, and they belong to every person regardless of who that person is or where the person lives. Early tenets of human rights can be found in many philosophies and most major religions. Interpersonal violence violates the enjoyment of many rights, including the rights to life, liberty, security, equality, an adequate standard of living, and participation in government, as well as freedoms from discrimination, slavery and torture and of association, expression, and belief. International, regional, and national laws promote and protect human rights, but equal protection and adequate implementation of the law is also required for human beings to fully enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Bibliography:
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- Stop Violence Against Women: http://www.stopvaw.org/
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