Nature of HRs
Together, the UDHR, the ICCPR, and the ICESCR are collectively known by this specific three-word title.
What is the International Bill of Rights (or International Bill of Human Rights)?
Declared as a collective right under UN General Assembly Resolution 39/11 in 1984, this right asserts that all peoples have an inherent entitlement to live free from international aggression and war.
What are peace rights (or the right to peace)?
Created in 1945 following World War II, this international organisation is primarily responsible for maintaining global peace, security, and promoting universal respect for human rights.
What is state sovereignty?
For an international treaty obligation like the Convention on the Rights of the Child to be enforced in Australian courts, it must first be enacted as this type of domestic law.
What is statute law (or an Act of Parliament)?
As the main deliberative body of the UN, this forum comprises all 193 member states—each receiving one equal vote—and was responsible for adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
What is the UN General Assembly (UNGA)?
This key feature of human rights means they belong to every human being simply by virtue of being human, regardless of status, background, or nationality.
What is inherent?
This human right ensures that all citizens, regardless of gender, race, or socio-economic status, have the legal right to vote in public elections.
What is universal suffrage?
This fundamental concept of international law grants a nation-state exclusive authority to govern its own territory without external interference, but it often acts as a major barrier to enforcing international human rights.
What is state sovereignty?
In Australia's federal system, Section 109 of the Constitution ensures that when a valid federal statute conflicts with a state statute, this level of government's law will always prevail.
What is the Commonwealth (or Federal) law?
Consisting of 15 member states, this principal UN body has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, and its five permanent members (P5) hold veto power over substantive resolutions.
What is the UN Security Council (UNSC)?
This binding 1966 treaty explicitly protects first-generation human rights, such as the right to a fair trial, freedom of speech, and protection from arbitrary arrest.
What is the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)?
Recognized in 1984 through UN General Assembly Resolution 39/11, this collective right asserts that all peoples have a fundamental entitlement to live free from war and international conflict.
What is the right to peace (or peace rights)?
This principal UN judicial body, located in The Hague, settles legal disputes between nation-states but cannot hear cases brought by individual citizens.
What is the International Court of Justice (ICJ)?
The Australian Constitution contains very few explicitly written guarantees of human rights, known by this term, which includes section 116 (freedom of religion) and section 80 (trial by jury).
What are express rights?
Established specifically under the ICCPR, this expert body of 18 independent human rights experts monitors state compliance with civil and political rights and can hear individual complaints under the First Optional Protocol.
What is the UN Human Rights Committee?
Human rights are described by this specific term because they cannot be taken away or surrendered, except in specific legal circumstances following due process.
What is inalienable?
Rights such as self-determination, peace rights, and environmental rights belong to an entire population or group, classifying them as this type of right.
What are collective rights (or third-generation rights)?
Non-governmental organisations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch promote human rights primarily through public advocacy, reporting, and using this mechanism to expose non-compliant governments.
What is "naming and shaming" (or public pressure/lobbying)?
A common argument against Australia adopting a Charter of Rights is that it would undermine parliamentary sovereignty by transferring key decision-making powers to this unelected branch of government.
What is the judiciary (or the courts / judges)?
Headed by an Under-Secretary-General, this specialized department of the UN Secretariat is tasked with promoting, coordinating, and leading human rights activities across the entire UN system.
What is the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)?
This 1966 international covenant provides a legal framework requiring nation-states to safeguard social security, fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right to participate in cultural life.
What is the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)?
Under international law, modern slavery violates a jus cogens norm. This grants domestic courts around the world this specific form of legal authority to prosecute perpetrators, regardless of their nationality or where the crime took place.
What is universal jurisdiction?
Unlike the International Court of Justice, which resolves disputes between nation-states, this independent tribunal established by the Rome Statute has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
What is the International Criminal Court (ICC)?
Under the ICCPR’s First Optional Protocol, Australian citizens who have exhausted all domestic remedies can submit individual complaints directly to this body.
What is the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC)?
Unanimously adopted by UN member states at the 2005 World Summit, this international doctrine asserts that when a sovereign state fails to protect its population from genocide or crimes against humanity, the international community has a moral duty to intervene.
What is the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)?