INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES
Human Rights are the basic inherent, universal, inalienable rights and freedoms that every person is entitled to simply because they are humans. These rights include the right to life, dignity, education, etc. They are recognized at both national and international level, and enshrined in the country’s constitution. International Human Rights (IHR) are the specific rights that are recognized, protected, and codified by treaties, and conventions and have been agreed upon by multiple nations through international organizations like the United Nations.
Every state in the world have rights that are entrenched in their constitution whether they are limited or not. Limited in this sense, refers to whether all the rights that should exist for a person as a human being are entrenched, or not. To create a formidable structure for the protection of the dignity of humans, rights are therefore created at the international level to ensure that every human is rightly protected. For instance, the international rights of individuals against discrimination exist to combat the misogynistic rights that may exist in a country. These rights are contained in the international human rights treaties.
International Human rights treaties are agreements between states that are formally signed and validated, stating out specific rules on what rights should exist for individuals and how the state will conduct its affairs on a particular issue especially in the upholding these rights, or handling infringement. Treaties can be bilateral or multilateral. It is bilateral if it binds two states. It is multilateral if it binds more than two states. A key aspect of treaties is that they are binding, and become part of international law. As a binding law, there are legal consequences that arises against party to the treaties for violating them. There are seven recognized core UN treaties of IHR. They include Treaties on:
Civil and Political rights
- Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Combating Racial and Gender-Based Discrimination
- Prohibiting Torture and Forced Disappearances
- Protecting the Right of Children, Migrant Workers and Persons with Disabilities
- Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Over 250,000 treaties have been registered and published at the UN Secretariat, cutting across human rights and other aspects. Although these treaties exist in their original language, they have been translated into French and English. The IHR treaties are of two divisions: the Customary Norms of International Human Rights, and the International Bill of Rights. The Customary norms of IHR arise from established international organizations, as recognized legal obligations rather than formal written conventions. They are jus cogens, which translates to peremptory norms, and are accepted and recognized by the international community of states as a whole, as being norms from which no derogation shall be allowed, and can be modified only by a subsequent norm of jus cogens too, having the same character. The jus cogens of IHR are the prohibition of slavery, genocide, piracy, and acts of aggression, or illegal use of force.
The International Bill of Rights is like a big promise that many countries made to help protect every individual in the world. It is a ‘collective term’ for three instrumental documents that outlinethe fundamental rights and freedoms that all individuals are entitled to. These three documents are a comprehensive framework guiding nations in promoting and protecting human rights on a global scale. These three documents are the UDHR, the ICCPR, and the ICESC. The effect of the International Bill of Rights is that when a country refuses to include a human right as a fundamental right in its national constitution, citizens of those affected countries can still claim those rights internationally. All 193 member-states have ratified at least one of the 9 binding treaties (UDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR, and their optional protocols) making all the countries, a signatory to the international bill of rights.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the UN General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. According to Amnesty International, the UDHR is a ‘document that acts like a global road map for freedom and equality, protecting the rights of everyone, everywhere’. The UDHR was drafted around 4 pillars – dignity, liberty, equality, and brotherhood. The UDHR establishes seven core freedom which acts across all the rights that exists in the 30 articles of the UDHR and over 70 other international documents on human rights. They commit all signatory nations to recognize and legitimize that all humans are born free, and are equal in dignity. The UDHR is interrelated (each right is connected to others), interdependent (the enjoyment of one is premised on the realization of the other. For instance, the enjoyment of the right to health is premised on rights like access to housing), and indivisible (no right is more important or higher than the other).
The UDHR establishes 7 core freedoms which are the right to life, liberty and dignity of humans; freedom from discrimination by gender, race, origin, and religion; right to freedom of movement; freedom of opinion and expression; freedom of association; freedom from forced labour; and freedom of conscience or religion.
The International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that binds nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including their right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, etc. One difference between UDHR and ICCPR is that UDHR is not legally binding, but ICCPR legally binds each of its signatory countries to the covenant. The first optionalprotocol was created to allow individuals whose countries are party to the convention and optional protocol to seek redress after exhausting all domestic remedies for infringement of rights through written communication to the UN Human Rights Committee. The second optional protocol was created to abolish the death penalty.
The International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESC) ensures the enjoyment of economic, social, and cultural rights including the right to education, and fair and just condition of work. The ICCPR and ICESC are seminal documents, hence, the two optional protocols they both have. They were adopted in 1966 at the heart of the Cold War. Since then, different countries have adopted the conventions indifferent years.
In summary, international human rights treaties are more than just legal documents—they are effective instruments influencingthe global context of justice, equity, and dignity. These treaties challenge nations to rise above self-interest and uphold the universal values that characterize our common humanity. While the road to universal implementation is fraught with obstacles, the very existence of these agreements underscores a collective commitment to a world where rights are respected and safeguarded. The true measure of our progress will be how resolutely we defend these commitments, ensuring that the promises enshrined in these treaties are reflected in the lived realities of every individual in the whole world.
