Three generations of human rights
Encyclopedia
The division of human rights
into three generations was initially proposed in 1979 by the Czech
jurist Karel Vasak
at the International Institute of Human Rights
in Strasbourg
. He used the term at least as early as November 1977. Vasak's theories have primarily taken root in European law.
His divisions follow the three watchwords of the French Revolution
: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
. The three generations are reflected in some of the rubrics of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
includes rights that are thought of as second generation as well as first generation ones, but it does not make the distinction in itself (the rights listed in it are not in specific order).
: They serve negatively to protect
the individual from excesses of the state. First-generation rights include, among other things, freedom of speech
, the right to a fair trial
, freedom of religion
and voting rights. They were pioneered by the United States
Bill of Rights
and in France
by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
in the 18th century, although the right to due process goes back to the Magna Carta
of 1215. They were first enshrined at the global level by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
, given status in international law
in Articles 3 to 21, and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
.
When first generation human rights are limited, this directly limits second generation rights. Improving first generation rights is the "causal link from first generation human rights to improved socio-economic
outcomes".
. They are fundamentally economic, social and cultural in nature. They guarantee different members of the citizenry equal conditions and treatment. Secondary rights would include a right to be employed
, rights to housing
and health care
, as well as social security
and unemployment benefit
s. Like first-generation rights, they were also covered by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and further embodied in Articles 22 to 27 of the Universal Declaration, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
In the United States of America, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
proposed a Second Bill of Rights
, covering much the same grounds, during his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944
. Today, many nations or groups of nations have developed legally binding declarations guaranteeing comprehensive sets of human rights, e.g. the European Social Charter
.
These rights are sometimes referred to as "red" rights. They impose upon the government the duty to respect and promote and fulfill them, but this depends on the availability of rescources. The duty is imposed on the state because it controls its own resources. No one has the direct right to housing
and right to education
. (In South Africa
, for instance, the right is not, per se, to housing, but rather "to have access to adequate housing," realised on a progressive basis.) The duty of government is in the realisation of these rights is a positive one.
, including the 1972 Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
, the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and other pieces of generally aspirational "soft law
." Because of the present-day tilting toward national sovereignty
and the preponderance of would-be offender nations, these rights have been hard to enact in legally binding documents.
The term "third-generation human rights" remains largely unofficial, and thus houses an extremely broad spectrum of rights, including:
Some countries have constitutional mechanisms for safeguarding third-generation rights. For example, the New Zealand Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
, the Hungarian Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations, the Parliament of Finland’s Committee for the Future, and the erstwhile Commission for Future Generations in the Knesset in Israel.
Some international organizations have offices for safeguarding such rights. An example is the High Commissioner on National Minorities
of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
. The Directorate-General for the Environment
of the European Commission has as its mission "protecting, preserving and improving the environment for present and future generations, and promoting sustainable development."
These are sometimes referred to as "green" rights.
argued that scarcity
means that supposed second-generation and third-generation rights are not really rights at all. If one person has a right, others have a duty to respect that right, but governments lack the resources necessary to fulfil the duties implied by citizens' supposed second- and third-generation rights.
Dr. Charles Kesler, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College
and senior fellow of the Claremont Institute, has argued that second- and third-generation human rights serve as an attempt to cloak political goals, which the majority may well agree are good things in and of themselves, in the language of rights, and thus grant those political goals inappropriate connotations. In his opinion, calling socio-economic goods "rights" inherently creates a related concept of "duties," so that other citizens have to be coerced by the government to give things to other people in order to fulfill these new rights. He also has stated that, in the US, the new rights create a "nationalization" of political decision-making at the federal level in violation of federalism. In his book Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift, Dr. Paul Rahe, the Charles O. Lee and Louise K. Lee Chair in Western Heritage at Hillsdale College
, wrote that focusing on equality-based rights leads to a subordination to the initial civil rights to an ever-expanding government, which would be too incompetent to provide for its citizens correctly and would merely seek to subordinate more rights.
Nineteenth century philosopher Frederic Bastiat
summarized the conflict between these negative and positive rights
by saying:
Economist F.A. Hayek has argued that the second generation concept of "social justice
" cannot have any practical political meaning:
New York University School of Law
professor of law Jeremy Waldron
has written in response to critics of the second-generation rights:
Hungarian socialist and political economist Karl Polanyi
made the antitheical argument to Hayek in the book The Great Transformation. Polanyi wrote that an uncontrolled free market would lead to repressive economic concentration and then to a co-opting of democratic governance that degrades civil rights.
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
into three generations was initially proposed in 1979 by the Czech
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
jurist Karel Vasak
Karel Vasak
Karel Vašák is a Czech-French international official and university professor.Vasak was born in Czechoslovakia and later moved to France to study law. He decided to remain there after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968...
at the International Institute of Human Rights
International Institute of Human Rights
The International Institute of Human Rights is an association under French local law based in Strasbourg, France...
in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
. He used the term at least as early as November 1977. Vasak's theories have primarily taken root in European law.
His divisions follow the three watchwords of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
Liberté, égalité, fraternité, French for "Liberty, equality, fraternity ", is the national motto of France, and is a typical example of a tripartite motto. Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution, it was then only one motto among others and was not institutionalized until the Third...
. The three generations are reflected in some of the rubrics of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union enshrines certain political, social, and economic rights for European Union citizens and residents, into EU law. It was drafted by the European Convention and solemnly proclaimed on 7 December 2000 by the European Parliament, the Council of...
. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
includes rights that are thought of as second generation as well as first generation ones, but it does not make the distinction in itself (the rights listed in it are not in specific order).
First-generation human rights
First-generation human rights, often called "blue" rights, deal essentially with liberty and participation in political life. They are fundamentally civil and political in nature, as well as strongly individualisticIndividual and group rights
Group rights are rights held by a group rather than by its members separately, or rights held only by individuals within the specified group; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people regardless of their group membership or lack thereof...
: They serve negatively to protect
Negative and positive rights
Philosophers and political scientists make a distinction between negative and positive rights . According to this view, positive rights permit or oblige action, whereas negative rights permit or oblige inaction. These permissions or obligations may be of either a legal or moral character...
the individual from excesses of the state. First-generation rights include, among other things, freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, the right to a fair trial
Right to a fair trial
The right to fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. A trial in these countries that is deemed unfair will typically be restarted, or its verdict voided....
, freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
and voting rights. They were pioneered by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
and in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal. Influenced by the doctrine of "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid...
in the 18th century, although the right to due process goes back to the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
of 1215. They were first enshrined at the global level by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
, given status in international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
in Articles 3 to 21, and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from March 23, 1976...
.
When first generation human rights are limited, this directly limits second generation rights. Improving first generation rights is the "causal link from first generation human rights to improved socio-economic
Socioeconomics
Socioeconomics or socio-economics or social economics is an umbrella term with different usages. 'Social economics' may refer broadly to the "use of economics in the study of society." More narrowly, contemporary practice considers behavioral interactions of individuals and groups through social...
outcomes".
Second-generation human rights
Second-generation human rights are related to equality and began to be recognized by governments after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. They are fundamentally economic, social and cultural in nature. They guarantee different members of the citizenry equal conditions and treatment. Secondary rights would include a right to be employed
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
, rights to housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
and health care
Universal health care
Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
, as well as social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
and unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefits are payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to unemployed people. Benefits may be based on a compulsory para-governmental insurance system...
s. Like first-generation rights, they were also covered by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and further embodied in Articles 22 to 27 of the Universal Declaration, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
In the United States of America, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
proposed a Second Bill of Rights
Second Bill of Rights
The Second Bill of Rights was a list of rights proposed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the then President of the United States, during his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944. In his address Roosevelt suggested that the nation had come to recognize, and should now implement, a second "bill...
, covering much the same grounds, during his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944
1944 in the United States
-January:* January 20 – The U.S. Army 36th Infantry Division, in Italy, attempts to cross the Rapido River.* January 22 – World War II – Operation Shingle: The Allies begin the assault on Anzio, Italy. The U.S...
. Today, many nations or groups of nations have developed legally binding declarations guaranteeing comprehensive sets of human rights, e.g. the European Social Charter
European Social Charter
The European Social Charter is a Council of Europe treaty which was adopted in 1961 and revised in 1996. The Revised Charter came into force in 1999 and is gradually replacing the initial 1961 treaty...
.
These rights are sometimes referred to as "red" rights. They impose upon the government the duty to respect and promote and fulfill them, but this depends on the availability of rescources. The duty is imposed on the state because it controls its own resources. No one has the direct right to housing
Right to housing
The right to housing is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing and shelter. It is recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.- Definition :...
and right to education
Right to education
The right to education is a universal entitlement to education, a right that is recognized as a human right. According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights the right to education includes the right to free, compulsory primary education for all, an obligation to...
. (In South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, for instance, the right is not, per se, to housing, but rather "to have access to adequate housing," realised on a progressive basis.) The duty of government is in the realisation of these rights is a positive one.
Third-generation human rights
Third-generation human rights are those rights that go beyond the mere civil and social, as expressed in many progressive documents of international lawInternational law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
, including the 1972 Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was an international conference convened under United Nations auspices held in Stockholm, Sweden from June 5–16, 1972...
, the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and other pieces of generally aspirational "soft law
Soft law
The term "soft law" refers to quasi-legal instruments which do not have any legally binding force, or whose binding force is somewhat "weaker" than the binding force of traditionallaw, often contrasted with soft law by being referred to as "hard law"...
." Because of the present-day tilting toward national sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
and the preponderance of would-be offender nations, these rights have been hard to enact in legally binding documents.
The term "third-generation human rights" remains largely unofficial, and thus houses an extremely broad spectrum of rights, including:
- Group and collective rights
- Right to self-determinationSelf-determinationSelf-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
- Right to economicEconomic developmentEconomic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
and social development - Right to a healthy environment
- Right to natural resourcesNatural ResourcesNatural Resources is a soul album released by Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in 1970 on the Gordy label. The album is significant for the Vietnam War ballad "I Should Be Proud" and the slow jam, "Love Guess Who"...
- Right to communicateCommunicationCommunication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
and communication rightsCommunication Rights-Rationale:Communication is recognised as an essential human need and, therefore, as a basic human right. Without it, no individual or community can exist, or prosper. Communication enables meanings to be exchanged, propels people to act and makes them who and what they are.Communication... - Right to participation in cultural heritageCultural heritageCultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
- Rights to intergenerational equityIntergenerational equityIntergenerational equity in economic, psychological, and sociological contexts, is the concept or idea of fairness or justice in relationships between children, youth, adults and seniors, particularly in terms of treatment and interactions. It has been studied in environmental and sociological...
and sustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
Some countries have constitutional mechanisms for safeguarding third-generation rights. For example, the New Zealand Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is an independent Officer of the New Zealand Parliament appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the House of Representatives for a five-year term under the Environment Act 1986...
, the Hungarian Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations, the Parliament of Finland’s Committee for the Future, and the erstwhile Commission for Future Generations in the Knesset in Israel.
Some international organizations have offices for safeguarding such rights. An example is the High Commissioner on National Minorities
High Commissioner on National Minorities
Created on July 8, 1992 by the Helsinki Summit Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the High Commissioner on National Minorities is charged with identifying and seeking early resolution of ethnic tension that might endanger peace, stability or friendly relations between...
of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
. The Directorate-General for the Environment
Directorate-General for the Environment (European Commission)
The Directorate-General for the Environment is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, responsible for the European Union policy area of the environment....
of the European Commission has as its mission "protecting, preserving and improving the environment for present and future generations, and promoting sustainable development."
These are sometimes referred to as "green" rights.
Criticism
Maurice CranstonMaurice Cranston
Maurice Cranston was a British philosopher, professor, and author. He served for many years as a Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics, and was also known for his popular publications...
argued that scarcity
Scarcity
Scarcity is the fundamental economic problem of having humans who have unlimited wants and needs in a world of limited resources. It states that society has insufficient productive resources to fulfill all human wants and needs. Alternatively, scarcity implies that not all of society's goals can be...
means that supposed second-generation and third-generation rights are not really rights at all. If one person has a right, others have a duty to respect that right, but governments lack the resources necessary to fulfil the duties implied by citizens' supposed second- and third-generation rights.
Dr. Charles Kesler, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College
Claremont McKenna College
Claremont McKenna College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college and a member of the Claremont Colleges located in Claremont, California. The campus is located east of Downtown Los Angeles...
and senior fellow of the Claremont Institute, has argued that second- and third-generation human rights serve as an attempt to cloak political goals, which the majority may well agree are good things in and of themselves, in the language of rights, and thus grant those political goals inappropriate connotations. In his opinion, calling socio-economic goods "rights" inherently creates a related concept of "duties," so that other citizens have to be coerced by the government to give things to other people in order to fulfill these new rights. He also has stated that, in the US, the new rights create a "nationalization" of political decision-making at the federal level in violation of federalism. In his book Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift, Dr. Paul Rahe, the Charles O. Lee and Louise K. Lee Chair in Western Heritage at Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States, is a co-educational liberal arts college known for being the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex; its refusal of government funding; and its monthly publication, Imprimis...
, wrote that focusing on equality-based rights leads to a subordination to the initial civil rights to an ever-expanding government, which would be too incompetent to provide for its citizens correctly and would merely seek to subordinate more rights.
Nineteenth century philosopher Frederic Bastiat
Frédéric Bastiat
Claude Frédéric Bastiat was a French classical liberal theorist, political economist, and member of the French assembly. He was notable for developing the important economic concept of opportunity cost.-Biography:...
summarized the conflict between these negative and positive rights
Negative and positive rights
Philosophers and political scientists make a distinction between negative and positive rights . According to this view, positive rights permit or oblige action, whereas negative rights permit or oblige inaction. These permissions or obligations may be of either a legal or moral character...
by saying:
Economist F.A. Hayek has argued that the second generation concept of "social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
" cannot have any practical political meaning:
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
professor of law Jeremy Waldron
Jeremy Waldron
Jeremy Waldron is professor of law and philosophy at the New York University School of Law and Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory at All Souls College, Oxford University.-Career:...
has written in response to critics of the second-generation rights:
In any case, the argument from first-generation to second-generation rights was never supposed to be a matter of conceptual analysis. It was rather this: if one is really concerned to secure civil or political liberty for a person, that commitment should be accompanied by a further concern about the conditions of the person's life that make it possible for him to enjoy and exercise that liberty. Why on earth would it be worth fighting for this person's liberty (say, his liberty to choose between A and B) if he were left in a situation in which the choice between A and B meant nothing to him, or in which his choosing one rather than the other would have no impact on his life?"
Hungarian socialist and political economist Karl Polanyi
Karl Polanyi
Karl Paul Polanyi was a Hungarian philosopher, political economist and economic anthropologist known for his opposition to traditional economic thought and his book The Great Transformation...
made the antitheical argument to Hayek in the book The Great Transformation. Polanyi wrote that an uncontrolled free market would lead to repressive economic concentration and then to a co-opting of democratic governance that degrades civil rights.
See also
- Two Concepts of LibertyTwo Concepts of LibertyTwo Concepts of Liberty was the inaugural lecture delivered by the liberal philosopher Isaiah Berlin before the University of Oxford on 31 October 1958. It was subsequently published as a 57-page pamphlet by Oxford at the Clarendon Press...
: a lecture by Isaiah BerlinIsaiah BerlinSir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and a dominant liberal scholar of his generation...
which distinguished between positivePositive libertyPositive liberty is defined as having the power and resources to fulfill one's own potential ; as opposed to negative liberty, which is freedom from external restraint...
and negative libertyNegative libertyNegative liberty is defined as freedom from interference by other people, and is set in contrast to positive liberty, which is defined as an individual's freedom from inhibitions of the social structure within the society such as classism, sexism or racism and is primarily concerned with the...
.
External links
- Indivisibility and interdependence of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, UN GA resolution, 1986