SESSION 3: HUMAN RIGHTS AND

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

HUMAN RIGHTS:
PERSONS-AND-PEOPLES CENTERED

Persons have human rights because they are human.

Human rights are freedoms, liberties that attach to a
person simply for being a person.
All human rights (civil, cultural, economic, social,
political) are for all.
All human rights spring from ones human dignity.
Dignity is NOT synonymous or equal to human
rights. Dignity is much more than human rights.
Human rights evolve and are dynamic.
Human rights are mainly defined by peoples
struggles.

HUMAN RIGHTS
IN CLAIMING THESE HUMAN RIGHTS, EVERYONE
ALSO ACCEPTS THE RESPONSIBILITY NOT TO
INFRINGE ON THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS AND TO
SUPPORT THOSE WHOSE RIGHTS ARE ABUSED OR
DENIED.
Characteristics of human rights
Human rights are UNIVERSAL because they apply to
regardless of personal circumstance.
Human rights cannot be taken away they are
INALIENABLE.
Human rights are INDIVISIBLE. They are of equal
status and cannot be placed in a hierarchical order.
Human rights are INTERDEPENDENT and

EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

People acquired rights and responsibilities through their

membership in a particular group family, indigenous
nation, religion, class, community, or state.
In 539 B.C., the armies of Cyrus the Great, the first king of
ancient Persia, conquered the city of Babylon. He freed the
slaves, declared that all people had the right to choose
their own religion, and established racial equality. Known
today as the Cyrus Cylinder, this ancient record has now
been recognized as the worlds first charter of human
rights.
From Babylon, the idea of human rights spread quickly to
India, Greece and eventually Rome. There the concept of
natural law arose, in observation of the fact that people
tended to follow certain unwritten laws in the course of life,
and Roman law was based on rational ideas derived from
the nature of things.

EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Christianity period/Medieval :
Rights were later related to natural law, where rights belong to a
person by nature and were bestowed on kings and other authorities
like the Church.

Magna Carta King John forced to sign by his subjects. The charter
respected a number of rights including the freedom of church from
interference, freedom to inherit property, protection from excessive
taxes, among others.

Petition of Right (1628) Essentially a statement of civil liberties

sent by the English Parliament to King Charles which included the
following:

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

No taxes may be levied without consent of Parliament,

No subject may be imprisoned without cause shown (reaffirmation of the right of habeas corpus),
No soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry, and
Martial law may not be used in time of peace.

EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

The US Constitution (1787), and the US Bill of Rights

(1791) Constitution is considered as the oldest
written national constitution in use and defines the
principal organs of government and their
jurisdictions and the basic rights of citizens. Its first
ten amendments were the Bill of Rights. The BOR, in
essence, are limitations of powers of the federal
government of the United States and protecting the
rights of all citizens, residents and visitors in
American territory.

18th Century, Central Europe :

Napoleon Bonaparte

1915 Mahatma Ghandi

WW I (19391914)

Auschwitz
Dachau ,
Etc.

Holocaust
Gypsies

WW II (194045)

Homosexu
als of
Rape
Nanking

Hiroshima &
Nagasaki

UDHR

HOLOCAUST

(WORLD WAR II)

RAPE OF NANJING

(1937-38) 300,000 CHINESE DIED

BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI

(90,000

166,000 PEOPLE IN HIROSHIMA AND 60,00080,000 IN NAGASAKI,) 1945 [1]

UNITED NATIONS

On October 24, 1945 - the United Nations

came into being as an intergovernmental
organization, with the purpose of saving
future generations from the devastation of
international conflict.
December 10, 1948 The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights was adopted
by a vote of 48 representatives in the UN
General Assembly, eight abstentions
(including Saudi Arabia and South Africa)

UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF

HUMAN RIGHTS

194
8

ICCPR ICESCR
European,
American
& African
U
Covenants

UN INTL COVENANTS
Vienna Declaration,
June 1995

DHR

common standard of achievement

Art. 3
3 interrelated
fundamental
rights: life,
liberty and
security of
person

Art.22-27
economic,
social and
cultural
rights

Art. 28-30
duties to
community

INHERENT DIGNITY
EQUALITY & NONDISCRIMINATORY

Human Rights
Characteristics
:
Universal
Indivisible
Interdependent
Inter-related

INTl BILL
OF RIGHTS

FULL

ENJOYMENT
(UDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR)

Human Dignity

Universality
Indivisibility
Interrelated
Interdependent

all HR
for all

CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW

Several principles embodied in the
UDHR have been internationally
accepted and, in fact, incorporated in
the Constitutions of more than 185
member countries of the UN.
The UDHR has achieved the status of
customary international law

INTERNATIONAL BILL OF
RIGHTS
UNIVERSAL
DECLARATION OF
HUMAN RIGHTS (1948)

International Covenant on Civil and

Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966
International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR) 1966

Naging ganap para isakatuparan ang parehong

dokumento (1974) matapos ang ratipikasyon ng mga

8 CORE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS

CONVENTIONS
1.
2.
3.

4.

5.

6.
7.

8.
9.

ICCPR
ICESCR
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination (ICEDRD)
Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW)
Convention Against Torture and other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman
and Degrading Treatment and Punishment (CAT)
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
International Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and
Members of their Families (ICRMW)
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPWD)
International Convention on the Protection of Person Against
Enforced Disappearance (ICPAPED )
NIRATIPIKA NG PILIPINAS ANG LAHAT NG
KASUNDUANG ITO MALIBAN SA # 9

PREAMBLE OF THE UNIVERSAL

DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
(UDHR)

10 DECEMBER 1948
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
it is essential,
if man is not to be compelled to have recourse,
ast resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppres
human rights should be protected by the rule of la

1. Right to Equality - We Are All Born Free & Equal.We are all born
free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in
the same way.
2. Freedom from Discrimination - Dont Discriminate.These rights
belong to everybody, whatever our differences.
3. Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security.We all have the right to
life, and to live in freedom and safety.
4. Freedom from SlaveryNobody has any right to make us aslave. We
cannot make anyone our slave.
5. Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment. Nobody has
any right to hurt us or to torture us.
6. Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law - You Have
Rights No Matter Where You Go.
7. Right to Equality before the Law - Were All Equal Before the
Law.The law is the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly.
8. Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal - Your Human Rights
Are Protected by Law.We can all ask for the law to help us when we
are not treated fairly.

9. Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile - No Unfair

Detainment.Nobody has the right to put us in prison without good reason and
keep us there, or to send us away from our country.
10. Right to Fair Public Hearing - The Right to Trial.If we are put on trial this
should be in public. The people who try us should not let anyone tell them what to
do.
11. Right to be Considered Innocent until Proven Guilty - Were Always
Innocent Till Proven Guilty.Nobody should be blamed for doing something until
it is proven. When people say we did a bad thing we have the right to show it is not
true.
12. Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and
Correspondence - The Right to Privacy.Nobody should try to harm our good
name. Nobody has the right to come into our home, open our letters, or bother us
or our family without a good reason.
13. Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country - Freedom to
Move.We all have the right to go where we want in our own country and to travel
as we wish.
14. Right to Asylum in other Countries from Persecution - The Right to
Seek a Safe Place to Live.If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own
country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe.

16. Right to Marriage and Family - Marriage and Family.Every

grown-up has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Men and
women have the same rights when they are married, and when they are
separated.
17. Right to Own Property - The Right to Your Own Things.Everyone
has the right to own things or share them. Nobody should take our things
from us without a good reason.
18. Freedom of Belief and Religion - Freedom of Thought.We all
have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or
to change it if we want.
19. Freedom of Opinion and Information - Freedom of
Expression.We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what
we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people.
20. Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association - The Right to
Public Assembly.We all have the right to meet our friends and to work
together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if
we dont want to.
21. Right to Participate in Government and in Free Elections - We all
have the right to take part in the government of our country. Every grownup should be allowed to choose their own leaders.
22. Right to Social Security.We all have the right to affordable housing,
medicine, education, and childcare, enough money to live on and medical
help if we are ill or old.

23. Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions - Workers

Rights.Every grown-up has the right to do a job, to a fair wage for their
work, and to join a trade union.
24. Right to Rest and Leisure - The Right to Play.We all have the right
to rest from work and to relax.
25. Right to Adequate Living Standard - Food and Shelter for All.We
all have the right to a good life. Mothers and children, people who are old,
unemployed or disabled, and all people have the right to be cared for.
26. The Right to Education.Education is a right. Primary school should be
free. We should learn about the United Nations and how to get on with others.
Our parents can choose what we learn.
27. Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of Community Copyright.Copyright is a special law that protects ones own artistic
creations and writings; others cannot make copies without permission. We all
have the right to our own way of life and to enjoy the good things that art,
science and learning bring.
28. Right to a Social Order that Articulates this Document - A Fair
and Free World.There must be proper order so we can all enjoy rights and
freedoms in our own country and all over the world.
29. Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development Responsibility.We have a duty to other people, and we should protect their
rights and freedoms.
30. Freedom from State or Personal Interference in the above Rights
- No One Can Take Away Your Human Rights.

MGA OBLIGASYON NG ESTADO

rights holder or
claim
holder
(may hawak ng
karapatan)

duty
holder
(may
obligasyon)

Estado/Gobyerno

MGA OBLIGASYON NG ESTADO

RESPETO (Respect) Estado ay hindi
dapat gumawa ng mga hakbang na
maglalabag sa dignidad at HR
PROTEKTAHAN (Protect) - Mga
aksyon ng estado upang pigilan ang
paglabag sa HR at pagdepensa sa
mga tao upang di malabag ang
karapatan (karaniwan sa papagitan ng mga
batas)

MGA OBLIGASYON NG ESTADO

TUPARIN (Fulfill) Mga aksyon

upang maisakatuparan ang mga
HR (batas, programa at serbisyo para
sa mga tao)
Obligasyong agad ipag-kaloob at
Obligasyon sa papaunlad na
pagsakatuparan (progressive
realization)

PHILIPPINE LEGAL SYSTEM

1987 CONSTITUTION (BILL OF RIGHTS)
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7438 (1992) - ACT DEFINING CERTAIN RIGHTS OF
PERSON ARRESTED, DETAINED OR UNDER CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION AS
WELL AS THE DUTIES OF THE ARRESTING, DETAINING AND
INVESTIGATING OFFICERS, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS
THEREOF
Penalizes any arresting public officer or employee or any
investigating officer for violations of the rights of any person
detained or under custodial investigation

arrested,

RA 9745 THE ANTI-TORTURE ACT OF (NOVEMBER 2009) AN ACT

PENALIZING TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING
TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFOR
Torture refers to an act which severe pain or suffering, whether
physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such
purposes as obtaining from him/her or a third person information or
confession; punishing him/her for an act s/he or a third person has
committed or is suspected of having committed; or for any reason based
on discrimination of any kind, when such pain is inflicted by
or at the
instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a person in
authority or agent of a person in authority.

PHILIPPINE LEGAL SYSTEM

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9851, PHILIPPINE ACT ON CRIMES AGAINST
INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW, GENOCIDE, AND OTHER CRIMES
AGAINST HUMANITY 11 DECEMBER 2009
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10353 - AN ACT DEFINING AND PENALIZING
ENFORCED OR INVOLUNTARY DISAPPEARANCE
Enforced or involuntary disappearancerefers to the arrest, detention,
abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty
committed by
agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the
authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a
refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of
the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which places such
person outside the protection of the law.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10389 - AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING RECOGNIZANCE
AS A MODE OF GRANTING THE RELEASE OF AN INDIGENT PERSON IN
CUSTODY AS AN ACCUSED IN A CRIMINAL CASE AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

ARTICLE III, 1987 CONSTITUTION

For the proper defense and protection of freedom, however, a political
institution must possess power. Hence, government becomes the delicate
art of balancing the power of government and the freedom of the
governed.
The Philippine experience under Spanish rule was one of a political and
social system where power far outweighed freedom. The aim of the
Philippine revolution was to achieve a just restraint of governmental
power and a corresponding expansion of individual freedom. The gift of
the American conqueror, after having suppressed the Filipino republic
established by the revolution, was the implantation of a system that
promised the achievement of balance between power and freedom. The
balancing of these two social values, first under the 1935 Constitution
and later under the 1973 Constitution and the accompanying martial law
interlude and now under the 1987 Constitution, is the story of
governmental power and the constitutional limits on it found in the Bill of
Rights.
(Fr. Joaquin Bernas, on the 1987 Philippine Constitution)

BILL OF RIGHTS

No person must be deprived of life, liberty

and property without due process of law,
nor shall any person be denied the equal
protection of the laws.
Freedom from unreasonable searches,
seizures and arrests
Right to Privacy of Communication
Freedom of Speech, Expression, the Press
and the Right to Peaceably Assemble

Liberty of Abode, Right to Travel

Right of the People to Information
Right to form Unions, Associations, Societies
Right of Person under Investigation to Be
Informed of Rights to Remain Silent,
Competent Counsel
Freedom from Torture
Right to Bail
Rights of the Accused
Right Against Self-Incrimination
Right to Speedy Trial
Double Jeopardy

SEC. 15, Article II. The State shall

protect and promote the right to health
of the people and instill health
consciousness among them.
SEC. 16, Article II. The State shall
protect and advance the right of the
people to a balanced and healthful
ecology in accord with the rhythm and
harmony of nature. (Oposa v. Factoran)

Section 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one

Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law.
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of
justice to settle actual controversies involving rights
which are legally demandable and enforceable, and
to determine whether or not there has been a grave
abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction on the part of any branch or
instrumentality of the Government.

Writ of Habeas Corpus extend to all cases of illegal confinement or

detention by which any person is deprived of his/her liberty, or by which the
rightful custody of any person is withheld from the person entitled thereto.
Writ of Amparo a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty
and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or
omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.
The writ shall cover extralegal killings and enforced disappearances or threats
thereof.
Writ of Habeas Data a remedy available to any person whose right to
privacy in life, liberty, or security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act
or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity
engaged in the gathering, collecting, or storing of data or information
regarding the person, family, home, and correspondence of the aggrieved
party.
Writ of Kalikasan - a remedy available to a natural or juridical person, entity
authorized by law, peoples organization, non-governmental organization, or
any public interest group accredited by or registered with any government
agency, on behalf of persons whose constitutional right to a balanced and
healthful ecology is violated, or threatened with violation by an unlawful act
or omission of a public official or employee, or private individual or entity,
involving environmental damage of such magnitude as to prejudice the life,
health or property of inhabitants in two or more cities or provinces.

Human rights VIOLATION - kagagawan

ng Estado at ng mga tauhan nito / State
Actors
Human Rights ABUSE kagagawan ng
hindi tauhan ng Estado / Non-State
Actors (NSA)

MAAARING AKSYONAN SA
HUSGADO (Justiciability) and
HRVs
HUMAN RIGHTS
PROTECTION
United Nations HR SYSTEM
1. The UN HR bodies
(Charter based and Treaty
based)
2. Reporting System
3. Complaint Procedure

REGIONAL REMEDIES
(ASEAN)
1. Human Rights
Mechanisms

LOKAL (DOMESTIC)
REMEDIES
1. Legal Recourse
2. Alternative Legal Options
3. Extra-legal means

JUSTICIABILITY AND
HRVS
Paglabag sa HR sa pamamagitan ng:
Act of Commission - AKTWAL NA PAGGAWA NG
PAGLABAG
Paggagawa mg mga batas na lumalabag sa HR
Pag-alis ng mga batas na pumoprotekta sa HR
Act of Omission - WALANG GINAWA KAYA MAY
PAGLABAG
Di paggawa ng mga batas o mga programa
na proprotekta sa HR
Di pag-aksyon para sa pagpapalawig ng HR

HUMAN RIGHTS MAKE MAN HUMAN

No cause is more worthy than the cause
of human right. Human rights are more
than legal concepts: they are the
essence of man, They are what make
man human, That is why they are called
human rights: deny them and you deny
mans humanity.
Jose Pepe W. Diokno
Lawyer, Senator and
Human Rights Activist

DIGNITY AND JUSTICE

FOR ALL OF US !