TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... 2
ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................... 7
I. Introduction: How this Manual works .................................................................................... 8
Sources of Human Rights within the Manual ........................................................................ 8
II. The International Framework to Promote and Protect Human Rights: An Overview .......... 9
A.
The United Nations and the Birth of the Universal Human Rights System ................ 9
B.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) ............................................. 10
C.
The Human Rights Covenants................................................................................... 10
D.
Specific Issue Human Rights Treaties ...................................................................... 12
E.
Additional UN Mechanisms to Protect and Promote Human Rights ........................ 13
F. Regional Human Rights Instruments ............................................................................ 14
The Council of Europe ..................................................................................................... 14
Organisation of American States ..................................................................................... 17
The African Union ........................................................................................................... 19
Arab Charter on Human Rights ....................................................................................... 21
III. Fundamental Human Rights Principles ............................................................................. 22
A.
Sources of Human Rights.......................................................................................... 22
Customary International Law .......................................................................................... 22
Other sources of international law ................................................................................... 23
B.
The position of international human rights law in domestic law .............................. 24
C.
Human rights as the guarantor of human dignity ...................................................... 25
D.
Implementing Human Rights .................................................................................... 26
The requirement of legality.............................................................................................. 26
The Rule of Law .............................................................................................................. 27
The Right to an Effective Remedy................................................................................... 28
Retrospectivity ................................................................................................................. 31
IV. How Human Rights Work: General Application............................................................... 33
A.
“Practical and Effective” ........................................................................................... 33
B.
The nature of civil and political rights ...................................................................... 33
Limiting rights ................................................................................................................. 33
Qualified rights ................................................................................................................ 34
C.
Issues arising under the Civil and Political Rights .................................................... 37
Waiver of rights ............................................................................................................... 37
Negative and positive obligations .................................................................................... 38
Prohibition of the abuse of rights and duties and responsibilities ................................... 38
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