[afro-nets] Food for a well defined thought

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Food for a well defined thought
-------------------------------

Human Rights Reader 109


Glossary of Human Rights Terms

Accession The act by which one nation becomes party to an agree-
ment already in force between other powers.

Adoption
Formal acceptance and putting into effect.

African Commission on Human and People's Rights
The principal regional HR treaty for Africa. Adopted by the OAU
in 1981; went into force in 1986.

Civil rights
Rights an individual has in his/her role as a citizen or in
his/her relation with the state.

Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (CESR)
Body charged with supervising the implementation of the ICESR
(see below).

Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW)
Body charged with supervising the implementation of CEDAW (see
below).

Convention
Treaty; agreement between states relating to matters affecting
all of them.

Content (of a right)/Core Content/Minimum Core Content
The meaning of the right; what it guarantees; the core content
of a right refers to entitlements that make up the right; mini-
mum core content has been described as the non-negotiable foun-
dation of a right to which all individuals, in all contexts and
under all circumstances, are entitled.

Covenant
Formal, written agreement between parties, usually requiring the
performance of some action. In the HR context, 'covenant' usu-
ally refers to either the Intl. Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights or the Intl. Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (see below).

Cultural Rights
Rights that protect a person's enjoyment of his/her own culture.

Declaration
A statement by governments that is not legally binding on them.

Discrimination
In the HR context, the act of practice of discriminating against
someone on the basis of their membership in a category (e.g.,
race, ethnicity, gender, religion). Discrimination is normally a
violation of HR.

ESC Rights
Shorthand for economic, social and cultural rights.

European Commission on HR
Body charged with supervising the implementation of the European
Convention (see below).

European Convention on HR
Principal regional HR treaty for Europe. Adopted in 1950; went
into force in 1953. Addresses a broad range of HR.

European Social Charter
Adopted in 1961; entered into force in 1965. Addresses economic
and social rights in more detail than does the Eur. Convention.
Effective primarily since the 1990s when a supervisory system
was established.

General Comments
Produced by the CESR to clarify and provide detail on procedures
related to its work and, primarily about the content of specific
ESC rights.

General Recommendations
Produced by CEDAW. Similar in purpose to General Comments.

Inalienable
Incapable of being alienated, surrendered or transferred. HR are
inalienable, meaning that no one can take away a person's
rights.

Indivisibility
See interdependence (below).

Inter-American Commission on HR
Body charged with supervising the implementation of the American
Convention.

Interdependence/indivisibility
Guiding principle of HR work meaning that civil and political
rights and ESC right are interdependent; one set of rights does
not take precedence over the other and neither set can be fully
guaranteed without the other.

Intl. Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimina-
tion against Women (CEDAW)
Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979; came into force in
1981. Principal intl. treaty related to women's rights.

Intl. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989;detais civil and po-
litical, as well as ESC rights of children; most widely ratified
intl. HR treaty.

Intl. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966; came into force in
1976.

Intl. Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966; came into force in
1976. Principal intl. HR treaty focused on ESC rights.

Intl. HR
Generally refers to the rights contained in the intl. legal
documents and treaties related to HR that have the roots primar-
ily in the UN system.

Legally Binding
Having the force of law.

Maximum Available Resources
Key provision of article 2 of the ICESCR related to governments'
obligations with respect t ESC rights. Governments must use the
maximum of available resources to meet their ESC rights obliga-
tions.

Non-discrimination
Fundamental HR principle meaning that all rights are guaranteed
to all without discrimination.

Norms (HR)
Requirements in HR treaties or declarations. A standard against
which a government's actions are measured. Same as standards.

Obligations to Respect, Protect and Fulfill
Governments' obligations with respect to ESC rights.

Respect: The government must not act counter to the HR standard
in question.

Protect: The government must act to stop others from violating
the HR standard.

Fulfill: The government has an affirmative duty to take appro-
priate measures to ensure that the HR standard is attained.

Political Rights
Rights related to government or the conduct of government (e.g.,
the right to vote and to participate in government decision-
making).

Progressive Realization/Progressive Achievement
Key provision of article 2 of the ICESCR related to a govern-
ment's obligations with respect to ESC rights. ESC rights must
be achieved progressively; no backward steps may be taken.

Protocol
Document or treaty related to an existing treaty.

Provision
An article or clause in a treaty or other legal document.

Ratification
Formal approval, in this case of a treaty. Has greater legal
force than a signature.

Social Rights
Rights relating to the person in society, such as the right to
education, social security, health.

Standards (HR)
Requirements in HR treaties or declarations. Used to as-
sess/measure how well a government's policies and practices com-
ply with HR.

Treaty
Written contract between states. Legally-binding on states that
ratify it.

Treaty Body
Group established to oversee compliance with a treaty.

Universal Declaration of HR
Adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948; gener-
ally considered the primary intl. HR document. Although not a
treaty, it is generally considered binding on all members of the
UN

Universal
Applying to all human beings (as in 'HR are universal')

Universality
Essential quality of HR meaning that HR apply to all human be-
ings by the fact of their being human.

Violation of HR
Failure of a state wit regard to one of its obligations under HR
norms.


--
Claudio Schuftan
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
mailto:claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn

Taken verbatim from Dignity Counts: A guide to using budget
analysis to advance human rights, Centro de Analisis e Investi-
gacion (FUNDAR), International Budget Project (IBP) and Interna-
tional Human Rights Internship Program (IHRIP), Mexico, 2004.