CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS
As already stated earlier,
civil and political rights are the rights that generally restrict the powers of
the government in respect of actions affecting the individual and his or her
autonomy (civil rights), and confer an opportunity upon people to contribute to
the determination of laws and participate in government (political rights).
CIVIL RIGHTS
Some of the most important rights in
this category are:
Right to Life
Everyone has the right to life, and -
according to the international human rights mechanisms - this right can be
violated in a variety of ways, including: deaths in custody as a result of
torture, neglect, the use of force, or life-threatening conditions of
detention; killings by state agents, or persons acting in direct or indirect
compliance with the State, when the force used is not absolutely necessary and
proportionate to the circumstances; expulsion or "refoulement"
(illegal return) of persons to a country where their lives are in danger;
failure by the state to investigate alleged violations of the right to life and
to bring those responsible to justice.
International human rights
mechanisms also place limits on the use of the death penalty.
The right to freedom from
torture
Everyone has the right to
freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
According to the international human rights mechanisms, this right can be
violated in a variety of ways, including: the deliberate infliction of severe
physical or psychological pain by state agents with the intention of causing
suffering; expelling or returning a person to a country in which they face a
real risk of being tortured or subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment; keeping persons in very poor conditions of detention, even if there
is no intention to inflict suffering; corporal (physical) punishment of
children in schools.
The right to a fair trial
Everyone has the right to a
fair trial, and - according to the international human rights mechanisms - this
right can be violated in a variety of ways, including by: hearing criminal
charges before administrative bodies which are not independent and impartial
courts; trials
in which, from the beginning, one party has a significant advantage over the
other (this is said to breach the principle of "equality of arms");
excessive delays in bringing a case to trial and/or in completing court
proceedings; secret trials; failing to respect the presumption of innocence by
denying procedural protection to accused persons (e.g. information about the
nature of the charge, time to prepare a defense, access to a lawyer, the
possibility to confront witnesses and (if necessary) access to interpretation).
The right to freedom of
assembly and association
Everyone has the right to
freedom of assembly and association. According to the international human
rights mechanisms, this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including:
preventing peaceful public demonstrations (unless it can be shown that there
would be a serious danger to public safety and order if the demonstration took
place); restricting possibilities to join
voluntary associations; denying persons the right to form and/or join organized
unions.
The Right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion
This right shall include
freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom,
either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to
manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
Coercing people to adopt certain religion and imposing unreasonable
restrictions, including criminal penalty, for exercising one’s own religion are
the most typical violations of this right. Freedom to manifest one's religion
or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and
are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the
fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
The right to freedom of
expression
Everyone has the right to
freedom of expression, and - according to the international human rights mechanisms
- this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including by: restricting
access to political, artistic or commercial information and ideas (e.g. denying
pregnant women information about abortion facilities); limiting the freedom of the
press; placing undue restrictions (excluding reasonable licensing restrictions)
on broadcasting.
The right to an effective
remedy
Everyone has the right to an
effective remedy if his/her human rights are violated. According to the
international human rights mechanisms, this right can be violated in a variety
of ways, including by: failing to provide adequate procedures to complain
about, or obtain compensation for, killings by security forces; not carrying out thorough enquiries into alleged ill-treatment by
security forces; not establishing complaints procedures regarding the
interception of telephone calls; failing to provide means of redress for
persons suspended from school on the grounds of their religious affiliation.
The right to privacy
Everyone has the right to
privacy, and - according to the international human rights mechanisms - this
right can be violated in a variety of ways, including by: intervening in a
person's private life (which includes their right to form relationships and to
enjoy sexual autonomy); disrupting family life (which includes the right to marry and to
found a family); destroying a person's home or preventing a person from living
in his/her home; interfering with private correspondence.
The right to liberty and
security
Everyone has the right to
liberty and security and - according to the international human rights
mechanisms - this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including:
unlawful or arbitrary detention (where there is no legal basis for the
deprivation of liberty), for example when a person is kept in detention after
the completion of their prison sentence or despite an amnesty law which applies
to them; detention of persons because they have exercised the rights and
freedoms guaranteed by international instruments, including the ones described
in this manual; detention after a trial which did not comply with international
standards for a fair trial (see the right to a fair trial).
The right to asylum
Everyone who has a well-founded
fear of persecution has the right to asylum in a country where they will be
safe. According to the international human rights mechanisms, this right can be
violated in a variety of ways, including by: not providing the facilities
necessary to enable people to claim asylum (including interpreters and
properly-trained immigration staff); failing to give adequate consideration to a request for asylum;
expelling a person to a country in which he/she would be at risk of torture or
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The right to freedom from
discrimination
Everyone has the right to
freedom from discrimination, and - according to the international human rights
mechanisms - this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including by
discriminating against someone because of: sex, race, color, language, religion, political allegiance, opinions,
nationality, social background, association with a national minority.
POLITICAL RIGHTS
These rights guarantee the positive liberty to contribute to the
process of governing the affairs of society in which one lives. Political
rights presume that the government processes should be structured so as to
provide opportunities for political participation of all eligible citizens.
According to the modern concept of political rights, every citizen should have
the right and opportunity, without unreasonable restrictions, to take part in
the conduct of public affairs, directly or through chosen representatives.
While political rights are very much
emphasized in the US, the percentage of Americans who choose to actively
participate political process is one of the lowest among industrialized
nations. This fact alone speaks volumes about the political environment in
which American citizens are expected to exercise their political freedoms. For
example, in the 2000 presidential campaign, for example, less than 50 percent
of the eligible voters cast their ballots.
Scholars differ on why this decline in voting has occurred from the high
point of the late 19th century, when voting rates regularly ran at 85 percent
or better of qualified voters. Some historians attribute the decline to the
corresponding decline in the importance of political parties in the daily lives
of the people. Others think that the growth of well-moneyed interest groups has
led people to lose interest in elections fought primarily through television
and newspaper advertisements. When non-voters are queried as to why they did
not vote the answers range widely. There are those who did not think that their
single vote would make a difference, and those who did not believe that the
issues affected them, as well as those who just did not care — a sad commentary
in light of the long historical movement toward universal suffrage in the
United States.
But many people were reminded by the
closeness of the 2000 presidential election that the individual's vote does
count. A shift of fractions of a percentage point in half-a-dozen states could
easily have swung the election the other way. Perhaps as a result, Americans in
the future will not take this important right, a right that lies at the very
heart of the notion of "consent of the governed," quite as much for
granted.