Rights, Obligations, Duties and Responsibilities
Senior 2 · History
Rights, Obligations, Duties and Responsibilities
Lesson 3 of 5
22 min
Rights need more than good intentions: they need written rules that states agree to and institutions that enforce them. These are called human rights instruments: declarations, conventions, charters, constitutions and laws. A declaration states principles; a convention or charter is a treaty that legally binds the states that ratify (formally approve) it.
| Instrument | Year | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) | 1948 | Adopted by the UN General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948; 30 articles; the foundation of modern human rights (10 December is Human Rights Day) |
| Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide | 1948 | Defines genocide and obliges states to prevent and punish it |
| International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights, and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights | 1966 | Turn the UDHR's rights into binding treaties |
| Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) | 1979 | Equality for women |
| Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) | 1989 | Rights of everyone under 18 |
| Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | 2006 | Equal rights and inclusion |
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| They set clear, shared standards | The UDHR itself is not a binding treaty |
| They give citizens a legal basis to claim rights in court | Enforcement is weak, especially internationally |
| States must report to UN and African bodies, which creates pressure to improve | Some states ignore reports or add reservations |
| They support education and awareness | Many people do not know their rights |
| International tribunals, such as the ICTR, have punished grave crimes | Poverty, conflict and corruption undermine them; the world failed to prevent the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi despite the Genocide Convention |
Instruments work best where there is the rule of law, a separation of powers between legislature, executive and judiciary, independent courts, free and fair elections, a responsible free press, active civil society, and citizens who know and use their rights.
Question: Why did the Genocide Convention (1948) fail to prevent the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi?
The Convention obliged states to prevent genocide, but it had no force of its own. It depended on states choosing to act, and in 1994 they did not: UN peacekeepers were withdrawn, and governments avoided the word "genocide" to escape their obligation. An instrument is only as effective as the will of those who must apply it.
Tip
Memory hook: "48, 48, 66, 79, 81, 89, 2006". UDHR and Genocide Convention (1948), the two Covenants (1966), CEDAW (1979), African Charter (1981), CRC (1989), Disability Convention (2006).
When and where was the UDHR adopted?
Solution. On 10 December 1948, by the UN General Assembly in Paris.
What makes the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights different from the UDHR?
Solution. It is a binding treaty, and it includes peoples' rights (such as development) and the duties of individuals as well as their rights.
Name two Rwandan institutions that protect human rights.
Solution. Any two of: the courts; the National Commission for Human Rights; the Office of the Ombudsman; the Gender Monitoring Office; the Rwanda Investigation Bureau; the police.
Give one strength and one weakness of international human rights instruments.
Solution. Strength: they set clear shared standards. Weakness: they are hard to enforce when states lack the will to act.
Remember
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