Frequently Asked Questions on Human Rights-Based Approach

Freedom of thought, conscience and religionThe right to vote and take part in the conduct ofpublic affairsThe right to participate in cultural lifeFurther reading:OHCHR treaty bodies database, http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/treaty/index.htm, and fact sheets, http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/publications/sheets.htm.2 Is there any hierarchy amonghuman rights?No, all human rights are equally important. The 1948Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes it clear thathuman rights of all kinds—economic, political, civil, culturaland social—are of equal validity and importance. This facthas been reaffirmed repeatedly by the international community,for example in the 1986 Declaration on the Right toDevelopment, the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programmeof Action, 3 and the near-universally ratified Convention onthe Rights of the Child.Human rights are also indivisible and interdependent. Theprinciple of their indivisibility recognizes that no humanright is inherently inferior to any other. Economic, socialand cultural rights must be respected, protected and realizedon an equal footing with civil and political rights. Theprinciple of their interdependence recognizes the difficulty(and, in many cases, the impossibility) of realizing any onehuman right in isolation. For instance, it is futile to talk ofthe right to work without a certain minimal realization ofthe right to education. Similarly, the right to vote may seemof little importance to somebody with nothing to eat or insituations where people are victimized because of theirskin colour, sex, language or religion. Taken together, theindivisibility and interdependence principles mean that effortsshould be made to realize allhumanrightstogether,allowing for prioritization as necessary in accordance withhuman rights principles (see question 14).3 What kinds of human rightsobligations are there?Obligations are generally of three kinds: to respect, to protectand to fulfil human rights:To respect human rights means simply not to interferewith their enjoyment. For instance, Statesshould refrain from carrying out forced evictionsand not arbitrarily restrict the right to vote or thefreedom of association.To protect human rights means to take steps toensure that third parties do not interfere with theirenjoyment. For example, States must protect the accessibilityof education by ensuring that parents andemployers do not stop girls from going to school.To fulfil human rights means to take steps progressivelyto realize the right in question. This obligationis sometimes subdivided into obligations to facilitateand to provide for its realization. The former refersto the obligation of the State to engage proactivelyin activities that would strengthen people’s abilityto meet their own needs, for instance, creating conditionsin which the market can supply the healthcareservices that they demand. The obligation to“provide” goes one step further, involving direct provisionof services if the right(s) concerned cannotbe realized otherwise, for example to compensatefor market failure or to help groups that are unableto provide for themselves.Human rights law recognizes that a lack of resources canimpede the realization of human rights. Accordingly, somehuman rights obligations are of a progressive kind, whileothers are immediate. 4 For economic, social and culturalrights, States have a core obligation to satisfy theminimum essential level of each right. This level cannot bedetermined in the abstract; it is a national task, to be undertakenin accordance with human rights principles (seequestion 14). However, in any situation where a significantnumber of people are being deprived of their right to health,3A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III, preamble, http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/vienna.htm.4See general comment No. 3 of the Committee on Economic, Social and CulturalRights, http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/comments.htm.2