TABLE OF CONTENTS

1:1 GROUP 5 MEMBERS

1:2REFERENCES
1:3PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS
1:4QUESTION
1:4:0 INTRODUCTION
1:4:1 NORMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
1:4:2 DEVELOPMENT ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS
1:4:3 TREATIES AND CONVENTIONS OF HUMAN RIGHT NORMS
1:4:4 EXAMPLES OF HUMAN RIGHT NORMS
1:5 GENERATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
1:6 CONCLUSION

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GROUP 5 MEMBERS
1. KAREN WANJIRU NGATHA – DLAW/2021/84317
2. DEBORAH WENDO _ DLAW/2021/84643
3. MARY MWIKALI – DLAW/2021/84876
4. JOAN CHERONO – DLAW/2021/84197
5. NELLY SILYA – DLAW/2020/67531

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REFERENCES
1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
2. United Nations Charter
3. Cambridge Dictionary
4. Constitution of Kenya 2010
5. ICCPR
6. ICESCR
7. European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights

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QUESTION

NORMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE GENERATIONS OF HUMAN

RIGHTS.

INTRODUCTION
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex nationality,
ethnicity, language, religion or any other status.
This is what makes human rights universal.
Human rights are said to be indivisible, interrelated, interdependent and inalienable.
These rights may include: Right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and many more.
Everyone is entitled to these rights without discrimination.
The UDHR adopted the UN General Assembly in 1948 which was the first legal document to set
out the fundamental human rights to be universally to be protected.
The creation of a comprehensive body of human rights law is a great achievement of the United
Nations
Human rights are divided into different categories which are internationally accepted. They
include: civil, political, cultural, economic and social rights.
1. Civil and Political rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political rights and its first and second optional
protocols entered into force in 1976 and 1989 respectively.
Deals with rights such as: Freedom of movement article 13 of UDHR, Equality before
the law article 7 of UDHR, right to fair trial article 10 of UDHR, participation in
public affairs and elections article 21 of UDHR.
2. Cultural, Economic and Social rights
These are freedoms, individuals and communities require to live a life of dignity.
The international covenant on economic social and cultural rights entered into force in
1976.
Deals with rights such as: Right to work in just and favorable conditions, right to
education article 26 UDHR, enjoyment of benefits of cultural freedom article 27
UDHR

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 Economic, Social and Cultural rights require high levels of investment while civil and
political rights require state to refrain from interfering with individual freedoms.
In Civil and Political rights, governments must make sure that they or any other group are
not denying people access to their rights 1011
while in economic, social and cultural rights,
governments must take active steps to ensure rights are being fulfilled.

NORMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

A norm is an accepted standard or a way of behaving or doing things that most people
agree with.
Norms are rules or expectations that determine and regulate appropriate behavior within a
culture, group or society.
Norms offer social standards for appropriate and inappropriate behavior that
govern what is and is not acceptable in interactions among people.
Human rights establish standards necessary for people to lead a minimally decent life
thus these standards aspire to protect all people from political, legal and social abuses.
Do states always comply with the norms of human rights?
States do not always comply with the norms because they may lack the capability to carry
out their obligations, for example:
In weak states, new norms may not have the ability to be implemented by domestic
institutions or new norms could conflict with existing norms.

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111
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
2 United Nations Charter
3Cambridge Dictionary

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DEVELOPMENT ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS
The development of international human rights norms has been one of the great success stories
of United Nations.
The first major achievement was the adoption of UDHR by the general assembly on 10 th
December 1948. This is a common standard of achievement for all people and nations.
There is an international code of human rights governing every area of the relationship
between the individual and the state and the process of drafting new norms continues at the
present time with a convention under preparation banning terrible forms of gross violations of
human rights prevalent since 1970s.
The development of human rights norms has been influenced by factors such as:
a) Concepts of human rights from different parts of the world, which were drawn
upon in giving content Universal declaration, including Historic, English, French and
American declarations of human rights.
b) A strong push for an approach to human rights that recognize interrelationship
among civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights.
Governments such as those of Britain, France and USA were reluctant to recognize
equality rights during an era in which France and Britain had colonies.
Latin American countries insisted that they did not have minority populations and were
reluctant to recognize the rights of indigenous populations.
Currently some western countries deny the character of human rights to economic, social and
cultural rights.
Developing countries pressed hard for the recognition of the right to self- determination
and the right to development:
These countries saw the development of human rights norms as having a role to play in making
international public policy major aspirations of large parts of humanity for peace, self-
determination, development and justice.

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TREATIES AND CONVENTIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS.
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.International human rights institution by Marc Limon

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customary international law, general principles and other sources of international law. They
Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law in the forms of treaties,
include:
a) International Convention on the elimination of all forms of racial Discrimination
(1965).
b) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights and International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
c) Convention against torture, convention on the rights of the child.
d) Convention on the rights of migrant workers and their families – which is the least
satisfied because of objection from western countries of its provisions.
These are the principal human rights treaties to date.
Through ratification of international human rights treaties, governments undertake to put
into place domestic measures and legislation compatible with their treaty obligations and
duties.
By becoming parties to international treaties, states assume obligations and duties under
international law to respect, protect and fulfil human rights.

EXAMPLES OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS

UDHR spelt out basic civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all human
beings should enjoy hence has overtime been widely accepted as the fundamental norms of
human rights that everyone should respect and protect.
They include:
1. Article 1 of UDHR – Right to equality.
All human beings are born free and equal and should be treated the same way.
Article 27 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 provides Equality and freedom from
discrimination.
2. Article 2 of UDHR – freedom from discrimination.
Everyone can claim their rights regardless of sex, race, language, religion, social standing
etc. Article 27 of the Constitution of Kenya (4), (5), provides a person shall not
discriminate directly or indirectly against another person on any of the grounds specified
in clause (4).

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 3. Article 3 of UDHR – Right to life, liberty, personal security.
Everyone has the right to life and to live in freedom and safety.
Article 26, (1) of the Constitution of Kenya provides every person has the right to life.
4. Article 12 of UDHR – freedom from interference with privacy, family, home and
correspondence.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or
correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation.
Article 31 of the Constitution Kenya provides privacy of every person.
5. Article 17 of UDHR- Right to own property
Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
Article 40 of the Constitution of Kenya provides protection of right to property (2), (a).
No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
6. Article 19 of UDHR – Freedom of opinion and information.
This is freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.
Article 33 of the Constitution of Kenya provides freedom of expression to seek, receive
and impart information.
Article 35 of COK provides Access to information.
7. Article 21 of UDHR – Right to participate in government and in free elections.
Everyone has the right to take part in their country’s political affairs and equal access to
public services.
The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government.
Article 38 of the Constitution of Kenya provides political rights (2). Every citizen has
the right to free, fair and regular elections.
8. Article 27 of UDHR – Right to participate in the cultural life of community.
Everyone has the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy
the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
Article 44 of the Constitution of Kenya provides language and culture (2). A person
belonging to a cultural or linguistic community has the right, with other members of
community to enjoy the person’s culture.
9. Article 3 of UDHR – Personal security. Everyone has the right to security of person.

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 Article 29 of the Constitution of Kenya provides Freedom and security of the person
which includes right not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading
manner.
These human rights norms stipulated in the UDHR have been incorporated in different
countries and the Kenyan constitution relates with its provisions.
These norms can be found in a variety of international human rights instruments,
including those comprising the International Bill of Rights.
A strategy for dealing with situations of gross violations of human rights is drafting
norms to deal with the problems which continues in areas of need.
Where international community is able to identify its standards and values,
international law serves to keep them in and present them as universal norms.
The United Nations and adoption of UDHR, states held to the belief in line with views of
scholars like Henkin (1979), Franck (1995), KOH (1997) that states should focus on
setting international human rights norms and promoting compliance.
The process should have been sufficient to ensure states obey norms.

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136
. Universal Declaration of Human rights.
7. Constitution of Kenya 2010.
8. International convention on civil and political rights.
9. International convention on social, economic and cultural rights.

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 GENERATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS.
Human rights are divided into three separate generations based on
1. Civil and political rights.
2. Economic, social and cultural rights.
3. Collective and solidarity rights.
A reflection of the 3 generations of human rights can be in the phrase of French Revolution:
Liberte (liberty), egalite (equality), fraternite (fraternity).
These generations of human rights were first formally established by Karel Vasak, a Czech
jurist in 1979 at the international Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Division of the types of human rights helps improve conversations about rights, especially
those involving legislation and the role that governments play in human rights.
The 3 generations are reflected in the charter of Fundamental Rights of European Union
while UDHR lists first and second generation rights.

1. FIRST GENERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS – LIBERTY

Derives primarily from the 17th and 18th century, political theories noted earlier associated with
English, American and French revolutions.
It is based on an individuals civil and political rights.
The rights became a priority for western nations during the cold war.
The rights can be divided into 2 sub-categories.
a) Rights of physical and civil security; includes not committing acts of torture,
slavery or treating people inhumanely.
b) Rights of civil-political liberties or empowerments; include rights such as freedom
of religion and right to political participation.

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10. UDHR Article 3-21
11. ICCPR 1966

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The following documents focus on first generations rights.
1. United States Bill of Rights (1791).
2. UDHR Articles 3-21
3. Magna Charter of 1215.
4. Political of Rights in 1628.
5. Bill of Rights England in 1689
6. American Declaration of Independence on 1776.
7. French Declaration of the rights of man and of citizen ion 1789.
1st generation rights are influenced by ideas, that political sovereignty rests with the people
instead of monarch and government is the result of a social contact and general will of the
people.
Responsibility is placed on government to ensure a fulfillment of these rights are not being
prevented. Civil and political rights are today detailed in ICCPR (1966).

2. SECOND GENERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS – EQUALITY

Derived from the 19th century.
Encompasses socio-economic rights.
It is based on establishing equal conditions.
Originates in the socialist traditions of Marx and Lenin, which encourage invention of the
state.
It is shaped by context of individualization and growth of capitalism.
2nd generation is divided into 2 sub-categories.
1. Rights of fulfillment of basic needs, includes-nutrition and healthcare.
2. Rights of fulfillment of economic needs, includes fair wages and sufficient
standards of living.
There rights begun to be recognized by government after world war II.
The ICESCR and Articles 22-28 of UDHR focus on these rights.
Responsibility is placed on government to actively ensure that these rights are in fact
fulfilled.

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Many nations, states or groups of nations have developed legally binding declarations
guaranteeing comprehensive sets of human rights example European social charter.
Some US stated have enacted some of these economic rights eg state of Newyork has
established right to tree education, right to organize and to bargain collectively and worked
compensation.
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3. THIRD - GENERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS – FRATERNITY.

Derived from the 20th century.
This generation is also known as solidarity human rights, they are rights that try to go beyond
framework of individual rights to focus on collective concepts eg community or people.
Associated with the political and economic aspirations of developing and newly decolonized
countries after world war II.
3rd generation is divided into:
1. Self – determination of people and includes different aspects of community
development and political status.
2. Rights of ethnic and religious minorities.
These rights started gaining acknowledgement as a result of growing globalization and a
heightened awareness of over-lapping global concerns eg extreme poverty.
These rights are found in agreements classified as ‘soft law’ which means they not legally
binding.
Examples of these agreements are: UDHR and 1992 Rio Declaration on environment and
development.
This generation of rights is challenged more often than 1st and 2nd generation but it is being
increasingly acknowledged on an international level.
Has a broad categories of rights such as:
a) Group and collective rights.
b) Right to self – determination.
c) Right to economic and social development.
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12. ICESCR.
13. UDHR Article 22-28
14. European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights

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 d) Right to healthy environment.
The African charter on Human and Peoples rights ensures many of these rights.
Some countries have constitutional mechanisms for safe guarding third generation rights eg:
1. Hungarian Parliamentary Commissioner for future generations.
2. Parliament of Finland’s Committee for the future.
3. Commission for future generations in Israel.
Some international organizations have offices for safe guarding such rights eg the High
commissioner on National Minorities of the organization for security and co-operation in
Europe.
The International criminal court, which came into existence in 2002, is empowered to prosecute
crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide and war crimes.

FOURTH GENERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Several analysts charter that a fourth generation of human rights is emerging, especially in
relation to technological development, information and communication technologies and
cyber space.
However, the content of it is not clear.

The new range of rights would be found such as.

i. Right to equality access computing and digital spaces.
ii. Right to digital – self - declaration
iii. Right to digital security.
iv. Right to access one’s own digital data.

Conflict between generations of rights is of two types;

1.Conflicts opposing different conceptions about one and the same fundamental right.
2.Conflicts that arise from the inability to protect or exercise a fundamental
right ,without violating another fundamental right.

CONCLUSION
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In conclusion, the objective of this work was to expound and understand more on what human
rights norms are and the different generations of those rights.

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