Assignment #3

Composition

The Internet and social media have become increasingly important in political activity. Blogging, video-sharing and tweeting were crucial in the political events in North Africa and the Middle East in 2011. They are important to human rights defenders everywhere. But the use of these new technologies to assert old freedoms has been met with repression by some governments.

A recent study of 37 countries by Freedom House cites increasing website blocking and filtering, content manipulation, attacks on and imprisonment of bloggers, punishment of ordinary users, cyber attacks and coercion of website owners to remove content, in attempts by authoritarian states to reduce political opposition. It suggests that Internet restrictions around the globe are partly a response to the exploding popularity, and significant role in political and social activism, of sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Governments consistently or temporarily closed down such sites in 12 of the countries studied, including Egypt and Tunisia where democracy advocates relied heavily on Facebook to mobilise supporters and organise mass rallies.

Human rights’ includes a wide range of different rights from the basic ones to more subjective ones, however, they all involve the need of providing a dignified human existence. Human rights can be classified in several distinctions such as civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Although human rights have been classified in a number of different manners it is important to note that international human rights law stresses that all human rights are universal, indivisible and interrelated, which means no right is more important than any other.

Bibliography:

http://www.humanrights.is/en/human-rights-education-project/human-rights-concepts-ideas-and-fora/part-i-the-concept-of-human-rights/definitions-and-classifications

Social networks as part of Human rights communication and defense

Using social media to promote human rights

“I had no words to add, I just sat down for some minutes. I felt she wanted to spare me from listening, listening to horrors that many others preferred untold,” wrote Rosebell Kagumire on her blog.

Rosebell, a human rights activist and multimedia journalist, wrote about her encounter with a woman at a medical center in northern Uganda. “I should not be telling you this,” said the woman as she was recounting the story of her abduction and the years of sexual violations she suffered during the civil war.

Rosebell's blog features commentaries and stories on political issues with a focus on women's rights in Uganda and the region. Her blog is very popular among young people who are looking for an independent analysis of events not usually found in traditional media.

Promoting human rights through social media, mobile communication and digital networks is not only Rosebell’s objective but the goal of six other writers, bloggers and journalists, all human rights defenders in their countries, who have been nominated Internet Freedom Fellows by the U.S. Department of State.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/InternetFreedom.aspx

Can social media help protect human rights?

As the use of social media becomes increasingly mainstream, it is changing the character of rights advocacy and communication around the world, with rights defenders and organizations continuing to refine their online presence and expand their ability to reach a global audience.

The Human Rights Commission of Australia has embraced social media: They are active on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and blogs. Citizens can register complaints online to the Human Rights Commission of New Zealand. The Equality and Human Rights Commission in Britain is also onboard with social media. The South African Human Rights Commission established an e-learning portal, partnering with educational institutions to promote human rights education. Most mainstream human rights advocates and campaigners use social media as an integral part of their outreach. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Witness are among the internationally recognized advocacy and research organizations now using Twitter to share information and calls to action. Amnesty International has said that social media is key as it explores the future of human rights activism.

Modern forms of communication and new media have made the world smaller. The Arab spring is perhaps the best example of using social media to spread messages of human rights and dignity.

The Social Network for Justice and Human Rights

The Social Network for Justice and Human Rights (Rede Social de Justiça e Defesa dos Direitos Humanos or, Rede Social) is a human rights organization that supports the work of social movements in Brazil through legal assistance, trainings, reporting and media campaigns on abuses of human rights.

Rede Social provides training and legal assistance to members of social movements and promotes communication and networking activities at the national and international level. Rede Social works with a variety of civil society organizations, including the Landless Workers Movement (MST), Pastoral Land Commission, Movement of People Displace by Dams, The Movement of Quilombolas (rural communities of African descendants) and the Organization of Popular Movements to combat against human rights violations such as asassinations, pre-emptive arrests, wrongful incarcerations, and death threats and other forms of intimidation toward leaders and members of social movements.

Rede prepares and submits human rights cases and petitions nationally and internationally; trains community members as human rights monitors and researchers; conducts popular research; and produces educational materials, books, and reports; and coordinates the organizations within the network. Rede Social also produces an Annual Report of the Human Rights in Brazil, with the goal of pressing, informing the public, fighting against impunity in the rural areas.

 How Social Media is Transforming Human Rights Monitoring

 Social media is increasingly helpful to not only monitor emerging human rights emergencies, but also to uncover incorrect information. A recent example is when Twitter helped me to spot incorrect contextual information on a newly uploaded execution video from Syria. This is just one instance in which crowdsourced expertise from social media can open up new opportunities for human rights organizations. Having that said, the challenges and pitfalls are numerous. I thought about these issues a lot while preparing for a Truthloader debate last week on how citizen journalism is changing the world. Current case in point is the upcoming elections in Kenya, which are probably the best (citizen) monitored elections in history

SOCIAL MEDIA AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The Internet and social media have become increasingly important in political activity. Blogging, video-sharing and tweeting were crucial in the political events in North Africa and the Middle East in 2011. They are important to human rights defenders everywhere. But the use of these new technologies to assert old freedoms has been met with repression by some governments.

A recent study of 37 countries by Freedom House cites increasing website blocking and filtering, content manipulation, attacks on and imprisonment of bloggers, punishment of ordinary users, cyber attacks and coercion of website owners to remove content, in attempts by authoritarian states to reduce political opposition. It suggests that Internet restrictions around the globe are partly a response to the exploding popularity, and significant role in political and social activism, of sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Governments consistently or temporarily closed down such sites in 12 of the countries studied, including Egypt and Tunisia where democracy advocates relied heavily on Facebook to mobilise supporters and organise mass rallies.

sources:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/InternetFreedom.aspx

https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1904319

http://blog.amnestyusa.org/middle-east/twitter-to-the-rescue-how-social-media-is-transforming-human-rights-monitoring/ 

http://www.grassrootsonline.org/where-we-work/brazil/social-network-justice-and-human-rights

http://europeandcis.undp.org/blog/2011/12/07/can-social-media-help-protect-human-rights/

1.- Classic and social rights 

One classification used for human rights is the division between ‘classic’ and ‘social’ rights. Classic rights entail an obligation for the state to refrain from certain actions, while social rights oblige it to provide certain guarantees. This classification is often used by lawyers to describe classic rights in terms of a duty to achieve a given result (‘obligation of result’) and social rights in terms of a duty to provide the means (‘obligations of conduct’). However, this distinction between becomes awkward considering classic rights, such as civil and political rights, often require considerable investment by the state. The state does not merely have the obligation to respect these rights, but must also guarantee that people can effectively enjoy them. Another example is the organization of elections, which also entails high costs. 

Ironically, most ‘social’ rights include elements that require the state to abstain from interfering with the individual’s exercise of the right. For example, the right to food includes the right for everyone to procure their own food supply without interference; the right to housing implies the right not to be a victim of forced eviction; the right to work encompasses the individual’s right to choose his/her own work and also requires the state not to hinder a person from working; and the right to education implies the freedom to establish and direct educational establishments. 

 2.- Civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights

Civil rights:

The set of ‘physical integrity rights’, which make up a part of the civil rights, concern the right to life, liberty and security of person, protection from physical violence against the person, torture, inhuman treatment, arbitrary arrest, detention, exile, slavery, interference with one’s privacy and right of ownership, restriction of one’s freedom of movement, and the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Another aspect included in these rights makes reference to equal treatment and protection in law, which certainly qualifies as a civil right. Moreover, this right plays an essential role in the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. 

Another group of civil rights is referred to under the collective term ‘due process rights’. These involve, among other things, to the right to a public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, the ‘presumption of innocence’, and legal assistance. 

Political rights:

They include freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly, the right to take part in the government of one’s country and the right to vote and stand for election at genuine periodic elections held in secret ballots. 

Economic and social rights:

These rights provide the conditions necessary for prosperity and well-being. Economic rights refer to the right to property, the right to work, which one freely chooses or accepts, the right to a fair wage, a reasonable limitation of working hours, and trade union rights. Social rights are those rights necessary for an adequate standard of living, including rights to health; shelter, food, social care, and the right to education. 

Cultural rights:

They include the right to participate freely in the cultural life of the community, the right to share in scientific advancement and the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which one is the author. 

Classification of Human Rights

The term "human rights" is used to refer to a wide range of rights ranging from the right to life, the right to cultural identity. They involve all elementary preconditions for a dignified human existence. At the international level, a distinction is sometimes made ​​between civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights.

Although human rights have been classified into a number of different ways, it is important to note that international law of human rights emphasizes that all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent.

The alleged dichotomy

It has been argued over the years that there are fundamental differences between economic, social and cultural rights, differentiated away from civil and political rights. These two categories of rights have been seen as two different concepts and their differences have been characterized as a dichotomy. According to this point of view, civil and political rights are considered to be expressed imposing a non-intervention policy which do not require resources for their implementation, and therefore can be applied immediately. On the other hand, economic, social and cultural rights are considered to be expressed involving a progressive realization and need for resources. 

Many international fora (plural of forum) have elaborated on the indivisibility and interdependency of human rights. As stated in the 1993 Vienna Declaration: ‘All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated. The international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same emphasis.’ The European Union (EU) and its member states also made reference to the importance of the view that both categories of human rights are of equal importance, in the sense that an existence worthy of human dignity is only possible if both civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights are enjoyed. 

The adoption of the Optional Protocol on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on 10 December 2008, represents an historic advance for human rights. This because economic, social and cultural rights - historically demoted to an inferior status with limited protection - were now finally considered on an equal footing with civil and political rights. 

3.- Fundamental and basic rights 

Fundamental rights include right to life and the inviolability of the person. Within the United Nations, extensive standards have been developed which, particularly since the 1960s, have been laid down in numerous conventions, declarations and resolutions, and which bring already recognized rights and matters of policy affecting human development. 

Another approach is to distinguish a number of ‘basic rights’, which should be given absolute priority in national and international policy. These include all the rights which concern people’s primary material and non-material needs. If these are not provided, no human being can lead a dignified existence. Basic rights include the right to life, the right to a minimum level of security, the inviolability of the person, freedom from slavery and torture, unlawful deprivation of liberty, discrimination and other similar acts. We can also include freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as the right to suitable nutrition, clothing, shelter and medical care, and other essentials crucial to physical and mental health. 

Other classifications

Freedoms

Freedom of speech and expression;

·         Freedom of belief (the right of every person to worship God in his own way);

·         Freedom from want (economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peace-time life for its inhabitants); and

·         Freedom from fear (world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation would be able to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor).

·         Roosevelt implied that a dignified human existence requires not only protection from oppression and arbitrariness, but also access to the primary necessities of life.

Civil liberties

Civil liberties refer primarily to those human rights which are laid down in the United States Constitution: freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly, protection against interference with one’s privacy, protection against torture, the right to a fair trial, and the rights of workers.

Individual and collective rights

Although the fundamental purpose of human rights is the protection and development of the individual (individual rights), some of these rights are exercised by people in groups (collective rights).

First, second and third generation rights