Roshan Ram­char­i­tar

Hu­man Rights Day will be cel­e­brat­ed to­mor­row. It com­mem­o­rates the adop­tion of the Uni­ver­sal De­c­la­ra­tion of Hu­man Rights by the Unit­ed Na­tions Gen­er­al As­sem­bly in 1948.The foun­da­tion of the Uni­ver­sal De­c­la­ra­tion is that all hu­man be­ings are born free and equal in dig­ni­ty and rights. It sets out the ba­sic hu­man rights to which all peo­ple are en­ti­tled.

What are hu­man rights?

Hu­man rights then are the rights which all per­sons have by rea­son of be­ing hu­man be­ings. These rights are uni­ver­sal, in­alien­able. These are your rights. Ex­am­ples of hu­man rights are:

�2 Right to life and lib­er­ty

�2 Right to equal­i­ty

�2 Right to a fair tri­al

�2 Right of free speech

�2 Right to vote

�2 Right to re­spect for your fam­i­ly life

�2 Right to an ed­u­ca­tion

�2 Right to en­joy prop­er­ty

�2 Right to hous­ing

�2 Right to work

�2 Right to wor­ship (or not)

�2 Right to as­so­ciate with who­ev­er you wish.

These may be fur­ther di­vid­ed in­to five cat­e­gories:

�2 Civ­il Rights

�2 Po­lit­i­cal Rights

�2 Eco­nom­ic Rights

�2 So­cial Rights

�2 Cul­tur­al Rights.

Sources of Hu­man Rights

The Con­sti­tu­tion sets out your fun­da­men­tal hu­man rights and free­doms. The State can­not in­fringe or take away these ex­cept in lim­it­ed ways and by means set out in the Con­sti­tu­tion.The courts are giv­en an im­por­tant role in up­hold­ing these hu­man rights.Hu­man rights are, ad­di­tion­al­ly, pro­tect­ed by in­ter­na­tion­al law. Trinidad and To­ba­go has signed many treaties and con­ven­tions since in­de­pen­dence.

When a State signs and rat­i­fies these treaties, it as­sumes the re­spon­si­bil­i­ty to bring lo­cal laws in line with what has been agreed, to adopt poli­cies in keep­ing with these treaties and to fol­low the en­force­ment means set out by it.

Some of the main in­ter­na­tion­al sources of hu­man rights are:

�2 Uni­ver­sal De­c­la­ra­tion of Hu­man Rights

�2 In­ter­na­tion­al Covenant on Civ­il and Po­lit­i­cal Rights

�2 In­ter­na­tion­al Covenant on Eco­nom­ic, So­cial and Cul­tur­al Rights

�2 Con­ven­tion on the Rights of the Child

�2 Con­ven­tion on the Elim­i­na­tion of All Forms of Dis­crim­i­na­tion Against Women (CEDAW)

�2 In­ter­na­tion­al Con­ven­tion on the Elim­i­na­tion of All Forms of Racism (CERD)

�2 Con­ven­tion Against Tor­ture and Oth­er Cru­el, In­hu­man or De­grad­ing Treat­ment of Pun­ish­ment (CAT).

De­fend­ing and Pro­mot­ing Your Hu­man Rights

There are laws in place to recog­nise, pro­tect and en­force hu­man rights. You how­ev­er are the best de­fend­er of your own hu­man rights. What can you do?Know your rights. Know your Con­sti­tu­tion. Learn about the law and keep up-to-date with changes be­ing made to the law.

Speak out against abus­es. Write let­ters to the news­pa­per; write to your MP or Min­is­ter; write to the Unit­ed Na­tions, Amnesty In­ter­na­tion­al and oth­er Hu­man Rights Watch Groups and Or­gan­i­sa­tions; call in to tele­vi­sion and ra­dio pro­grammes; stage a peace­ful protest.

Com­plain to an ap­pro­pri­ate au­thor­i­ty e.g. the Om­buds­man, the Po­lice Com­plaints Au­thor­i­ty, the Equal Op­por­tu­ni­ties Com­mis­sion.Be­come po­lit­i­cal­ly in­volved.

Give mon­ey or con­tribute to a hu­man rights cause or or­gan­i­sa­tion such as NGOs that pro­mote re­spect for hu­man rights.Join or form your own hu­man rights group.Par­tic­i­pate in com­mu­ni­ty ac­tiv­i­ties.Pro­mote a cul­ture of hu­man rights.This col­umn is not le­gal ad­vice. If you have a le­gal prob­lem, you should con­sult a le­gal ad­vis­er. Co-or­di­na­tor: Roshan Ram­char­i­tar

De­cem­ber 9, 2013