Characteristics of Human Rights

Human rights are generally inherent, fundamental, inalienable, imprescriptible, indivisible, universal and
interdependent.
Human rights are inherent because they are not granted by any person or authority. They do
not need any event for their existence. They are distinguished from constitutional rights or legal rights
which are provided by the state constitution or legislative bodies. Some example of these rights are the
rights to life and the rights to dignity for every human being.
Human rights are fundamental because without them the life and dignity of man will be
meaningless. Some examples of fundamentals are the right to individual liberty and security of a person
or freedom of thought or religion.
Human rights are inalienable because they cannot be rightfully taken away from a free
individual. An example of this right is the freedom from torture. No authority can be validly and legally
torture an individual. They cannot be given away or forfeited.
Human rights are imprescriptible because they cannot be lost even by a long passage of time.
Man does not lose his rights even if he fails to use or assert them. Some examples are freedom of
thought, conscience and religion. Man rights to liberty is not lost even if he had been arbitrarily detained
by authorities.
Human rights are indivisible because they are not capable of being divided. They cannot be
denied even when they other rights have already been enjoyed. Examples of these rights are freedom of
expression of belief or opinion. They include the rights to freedom of religion and worship. Ordinarily
legal rights can be exercised independently from the exercise of other rights.
Human rights are universal to all human beings irrespective of their origin, status and condition
or place where they live. The human rights of an Asian are no difference from the human rights of
European or a poor man from a rich individual. All human rights are essentially the same and they can
be enforced without national borders.
Human rights are interdependent because the fulfillment of one cannot be had without the
realization of another. The respect for human rights necessarily includes the realization of human’s
dignity. Example of this right is the rights to life and existence as a person. In addition, these cannot be
realized without the rights to work in order to maintain a good standard of living.

Classifications of human rights

Rights can be classified according to the following:
1. According to source:
 Natural rights
 Constitutional rights
 Statutory rights
2. According to recipient:
 Individual rights
 Collective rights
3. According to the aspects of life:
 Civil rights
 Political rights
 Economic rights
 Social rights
 Cultural rights
4. According to Struggle for recognition:
 First generation of human rights
  Second generation of human rights
 Third generation of human rights
5. According to Derogability:
 Absolute or non-derogable rights
 Derogable, relative or can be limited rights

According to source:
Natural rights are God-given rights, acknowledge by everybody to be morally good. They are
unwritten but prevail as norms of the society. Example of these rights are the rights to dignity life and
self-development.
Constitutional rights are those rights which are conferred and protected by the constitution and
which cannot be modified or taken away by a law making body.
Statutory rights are those rights which are provided by law, promulgated by a law –making body
and consequently may be abolished by the same body.
Constitutional rights an statutory rights are sometimes referred to as legal rights
According to recipient:
Individual rights are those rights being accorded to individuals.
Collective rights also called people’s rights or solidarity rights are rights of the society, those that
can be enjoyed only in company with others. Example are the rights to peaceably assemble, rights to
peace, rights to development, rights to self determination and the rights to environment.
According to aspects of life:
Civil rights are those rights which the law will enforce at the instance of private individual for the
purpose of securing them the enjoyment of their means of happiness. They includes the rights against
involuntary servitude and imprisonment for non-payment of debt or a poll tax; the constitutional rights
of the accused; the social and economic rights; liberty of abode and of changing the same. Freedom of
expression, speech and of the press and the rights to assemble and petition and the rights to form
associations are likewise civil rights. However, they partake of the nature of political rights when they
are used as a means to participate in the affairs of the government.
Political rights are those rights which enable us to participate in running the affairs of the
government either directly or indirectly. Example of these rights are the rights to vote, rights to
information on matters of public concern and the rights to initiative and referendum.
Economic and social rights are those rights which the law confers upon the people to enable
them to achieve social and economic development thereby assuring them their well-being, happiness
and financial security. Example are the rights to property, education and promotion of social justice.
Cultural rights are those rights that ensure the well-being of the individual and foster
preservation, enrichment and dynamic evolution of national culture based on the principles of unity in
the diversity of climate of free artistic and intellectual expression.
According to struggle for recognition
In terms of historical development, human rights are classified into First Generation of Rights¸ Second
Generation of Rights and Third Generation of Rights.
The FIRST GENERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS covers civil and political rights which derives from
primarily from 17th to 18th centuries reformist theories, e.g. Locke, Hobbes, etc., and which are
associated in English, American and French Revolution. It conceives human rights more in negative
(freedom from) than positive (rights to) terms; it favors the abstention than the intervention of
government in the exercise of freedom and n the quest for human dignity.
The SECOND GENERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS covers economic, social and cultural rights which
find their origin primarily in the socialist tradition and have been variously promoted by evolution of
revolutionary struggles and welfare movements. It conceives human rights more in positive terms
(rights to). They are fundamental claims to social equality.
THIRD GENERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS covers collective rights. While drawing upon inter-
linking and reconceptualizing value demands associated in the first and second generation of rights, it is
best understood as a product, albeit one still in formation, of both the rise and decline of the nation-
state in the last half of the 20th century. An example of this right of people to development and healthy
development.

According to its Derogability:

Non-derogable or absolute rights are those that cannot be suspended nor taken away nor
restricted/limited even in extreme emergency and even if the government invokes national security.
Among them are the rights not to be deprived of life arbitrarily, the right of freedom from torture, the
right to be recognized as a person, and the right to freedom of thought or conscience.
Hand in hand with the human rights which the individual must enjoy is the right of the state to
national security. Thus some individuals are not absolute or are derogable
Derogable or relative rights maybe suspended or restricted or limited depending on the
circumstances which call for the preservation of social life. Example are the rights to freely move maybe
limited through the imposition of curfews. However the imposition of restriction on certain individual
rights must satisfy three requirements for it to be valid, namely 1. It is provided for by law which is made
known for every citizen; 2. There is a state of emergency which necessitates the urgent preservation of
the public good, public safety and public moral; 3. It does not exceed what is strictly necessary to
achieve the purpose.
Categories of Human Rights
Human rights are categorized in several ways, namely:
1. As fundamental freedom in Political rights
The Bill of rights in the Philippine Constitution contains fundamental freedoms of the individual
civil and political rights. Such as the freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of peaceful
assembly etc.
2. As democratic rights
These rights are commonly exercise in the democratic state such as the rights to vote and to
participate in the electoral process and to participate in a government affairs.
3. As mobility
it is the rights to travel and to returns on ones country and the freedom of movement within the
country.
4. As rights to life, liberty and security of the person
These rights represent the core fundamental rights which relate to the right to physical and
personal integrity, consistent with human dignity. They include the rights to protection against
political and extra-judicial killings, the disappearance of person and torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
5. As legal rights
These rights constitute due process that can be invoked by persons accused this includes the
freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention and the protection against unreasonable search
and seizure etc.
6. As rights of equality
Also referred to as the rights against discrimination . Everyone is equal before the law and is
entitled to equal protection or equal benefit of law.
7. As economic, social and cultural rights
 They are considered more of standards to be observed by the state, this include the rights to
social security, rights to adequate standard of living, rights to education and the like.
8. As workers rights
This includes the right to association, the rights to organize union, to bargain collectively, the
prohibition of forced labor as well as children and the guarantee of minimum wages and other
support.
9. As aboriginal rights
These rights associated with the rights of indigenous cultural tribes or communities.
10. As reproductive rights
These rights includes the rights to found family and bear children, to gender sensitivity and to
family planning, but it prohibits the rights to abortion which guarantees the protection of the
life of the unborn.
11. As protective rights of person in armed conflicts
These rights are provided in the international humanitarian law for the protection of children,
women and non-combatants during international armed conflicts.
12. As rights to self-determination
Rights was asserted by colonial peoples in their struggle for independence. This means that
people has the right to be free from colonial rule and decide their own destiny.
13. As minority group rights
These rights includes the protection of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities.