Accession |
The act by which one nation becomes party to an agreement already in force between other powers. |
| Adoption | Formal acceptance and putting into effect. |
| African Commission on Human and People’s Rights | The principal regional HR treaty for Africa. Adopted by the OAU in 1981; went into force in 1986. |
| Civil rights | Rights an individual has in his/her role as a citizen or in his/her relation with the state. |
| Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (CESR) | Body charged with supervising the implementation of the ICESR (see below). |
| Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) | Body charged with supervising the implementation of CEDAW (see below). |
| Convention | Treaty; agreement between states relating to matters affecting all of them. |
| Content (of a right)/Core Content/Minimum Core Content | The meaning of the right; what it guarantees; the core content of a right refers to entitlements that make up the right; minimum core content has been described as the non-negotiable foundation of a right to which all individuals, in all contexts and under all circumstances, are entitled. |
| Covenant | Formal, written agreement between parties, usually requiring the performance of some action. In the HR context, ‘covenant’ usually refers to either the Intl. Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights or the Intl. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (see below). |
| Cultural Rights | Rights that protect a person’s enjoyment of his/her own culture. |
| Declaration | A statement by governments that is not legally binding on them. |
| Discrimination | In the HR context, the act of practice of discriminating against someone on the basis of their membership in a category (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, religion). Discrimination is normally a violation of HR. |
| ESC Rights | Shorthand for economic, social and cultural rights. |
| European Commission on HR | Body charged with supervising the implementation of the European Convention (see below). |
| European Convention on HR | Principal regional HR treaty for Europe. Adopted in 1950; went into force in 1953. Addresses a broad range of HR. |
| European Social Charter | Adopted in 1961; entered into force in 1965. Addresses economic and social rights in more detail than does the Eur. Convention. Effective primarily since the 1990s when a supervisory system was established. |
| General Comments | Produced by the CESR to clarify and provide detail on procedures related to its work and, primarily about the content of specific ESC rights. |
| General Recommendations | Produced by CEDAW. Similar in purpose to General Comments. |
| Inalienable | Incapable of being alienated, surrendered or transferred. HR are inalienable, meaning that no one can take away a person’s rights. |
| Indivisibility | See interdependence (below). |
| Inter-American Commission on HR | Body charged with supervising the implementation of the American Convention. |
| Interdependence/indivisibility | Guiding principle of HR work meaning that civil and political rights and ESC right are interdependent; one set of rights does not take precedence over the other and neither set can be fully guaranteed without the other. |
| Intl. Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) | Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979; came into force in 1981. Principal intl. treaty related to women’s rights. |
| Intl. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) | Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989;detais civil and political, as well as ESC rights of children; most widely ratified intl. HR treaty. |
| Intl. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) | Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966; came into force in 1976. |
| Intl. Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) | Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966; came into force in 1976. Principal intl. HR treaty focused on ESC rights. |
| Intl. HR | Generally refers to the rights contained in the intl. legal documents and treaties related to HR that have the roots primarily in the UN system. |
| Legally Binding | Having the force of law. |
| Maximum Available Resources | Key provision of article 2 of the ICESCR related to governments’ obligations with respect t ESC rights. Governments must use the maximum of available resources to meet their ESC rights obligations. |
| Non-discrimination | Fundamental HR principle meaning that all rights are guaranteed to all without discrimination. |
| Norms (HR) | Requirements in HR treaties or declarations. A standard against which a government’s actions are measured. Same as standards. |
| Obligations to Respect, Protect and Fulfill | Governments’ obligations with respect to ESC rights.
Respect: The government must not act counter to the HR standard in question. Protect: The government must act to stop others from violating the HR standard. Fulfill: The government has an affirmative duty to take appropriate measures to ensure that the HR standard is attained. |
| Political Rights | Rights related to government or the conduct of government (e.g., the right to vote and to participate in government decision-making). |
| Progressive Realization/Progressive Achievement | Key provision of article 2 of the ICESCR related to a government’s obligations with respect to ESC rights. ESC rights must be achieved progressively; no backward steps may be taken. |
| Protocol | Document or treaty related to an existing treaty. |
| Provision | An article or clause in a treaty or other legal document. |
| Ratification | Formal approval, in this case of a treaty. Has greater legal force than a signature. |
| Social Rights | Rights relating to the person in society, such as the right to education, social security, health. |
| Standards (HR) | Requirements in HR treaties or declarations. Used to assess/measure how well a government’s policies and practices comply with HR. |
| Treaty | Written contract between states. Legally-binding on states that ratify it. |
| Treaty Body | Group established to oversee compliance with a treaty. |
| Universal Declaration of HR | Adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948; generally considered the primary intl. HR document. Although not a treaty, it is generally considered binding on all members of the UN |
| Universal | Applying to all human beings (as in ‘HR are universal’) |
| Universality | Essential quality of HR meaning that HR apply to all human beings by the fact of their being human. |
| Violation of HR | Failure of a state wit regard to one of its obligations under HR norms. |
Claudio Schuftan, Ho Chi Minh City