Human Rights

The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10, 1948.  The UDHR outlines the fundamental rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled without discrimination, declaring, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.  They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Everybody has human rights. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what language you speak or what religion you belong to. You have a duty to respect the rights of others, just as they have a duty to respect yours and nobody can take your rights away. Adopted not long after the horrors of World War II, the UDHR was the UN’s first declaration regarding human rights and freedoms. More than sixty years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the importance of human rights is well established in the international community.  In an effort to prepare the declaration for implementation, the General Assembly charged the Commission on Human Rights with drafting covenants for the two subcomponents of rights in the declaration: Civil and Political (CP) rights and Economic, Social, and Cultural (ESC) rights.  Following a lengthy drafting process and extensive input from participating governments, the Commission completed the two documents almost twenty years after the adoption of the UDHR.  The General Assembly adopted the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on December 16, 1966.

I. Civil and Political (CP) Rights  

CP rights related to the protection of individual liberties.  The ICCPR establishes basic CP rights like the rights to life and freedom from discrimination, but also establishes protections for individual participation in political and civil matters, including freedom of speech and belief, right to due process of law, to vote and participate in government. 
1. Right to life

The right to life is considered a fundamental human right because, without it, enjoyment of all of the other rights and freedoms established in international human rights Conventions would be rendered nugatory; there can be no rights if there is no life. In the right to life, it is considered that states parties should take all possible measures to reduce infant mortality and to increase life expectancy, especially measures to eliminate malnutrition and epidemics. 

The right to life also includes the right to dignity and the right to livelihood. It is the duty of the State to protect human life against unwarranted actions by public authorities as well as by private persons. The duty of the State to protect the right has been interpreted broadly, including the duties to prohibit arbitrary killing by agents of the State and to strictly control and limit the circumstances in which a person may be deprived of life by state authorities, to conduct some form of effective official investigation when individuals have been killed as a result of the use of force by agents of the State, to secure the right to life by making effective provisions in criminal law to deter the commission of offenses against the person, to establish law-enforcement machinery for the prevention, suppression, investigation and penalization of breaches of criminal law, in certain well-defined circumstances, a positive duty to take preventative operational measures to protect an individual whose life is at risk from the criminal acts of another individual, to take measures to protect the life of a person held in custody , to ensure that a person being extradited or deported is not exposed to a real risk of violation of right to life in the receiving State. 
2. Freedom from discrimination

Freedom from discrimination refers to the right to be treated equally without any discrimination, such as sex (including pregnancy and childbirth), marital status, religious belief, ethical belief, color, race, ethnic or national origin (including nationality or citizenship), disability, age, political opinion, employment status, family status and sexual orientation. Thus, the right to equal treatment requires that all persons be treated equally before the law, without discrimination. The principle of equality and non-discrimination guarantees that those in equal circumstances are dealt with equally in law and practice. However, it is important to stress that not every distinction or difference in treatment will amount to discrimination. 

Freedom from discrimination is not just the formal recognition of equal rights in law, but means substantive equality and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy rights equally. It claims that no matter who you are, what your status is, what religion you believe, male or female, everyone has equal right. It follows that not all distinctions or different treatment constitute discrimination, and equality does not mean treating everybody the same. 
3. Freedom of speech and believe 

The freedom of speech often goes hand in hand with the endeavor to limit the power of governments. The freedom of speech can be considered an essential aspect of the individual’s defense against government. Human rights defenders also rely heavily on this right to challenge government indifference to or infliction of human rights abuses. The freedom of speech is a complex right that includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds through any media. Freedom of speech has a special status as a human right because we need it to promote and protect all human rights. It embraces free speech, the sanctity of an individual’s opinion, a free press, the transmission and receipt of ideas and information, the freedom of expression in art and other forms, the ability to receive ideas from elsewhere, and even the right to silence. The freedom to seek information means a person has a right of access to information, subject only to prescribed limitations, and the freedom to receive information basically prohibits a Government from restricting that freedom. The freedom to impart or convey opinions to others implies that the right to express includes dissemination, such as by newspapers or the mass media. 

The right to freedom of religion and belief includes the right to hold a belief, the right to change one’s religion or belief, the right to express one’s religion or belief, and the right not to hold a belief. The right to believe is not limited to religion. It also includes atheistic beliefs, as well as matters of conscience such as pacifism and conscientious objection to military service. The right to express a belief encompasses a range of activities including assembling for worship and the establishment of places of worship, establishing humanitarian institutions, using articles and materials or customs related to the belief, writing and disseminating religious material , teaching religion or belief at suitable places, soliciting and receiving voluntary financial contributions, training, appointing, electing or designating religious leaders, observing religious holidays and ceremonies, establishing and maintaining religious networks. 
4. Right to Due Process of law

In a broad sense, due process of law is interpreted here as the right to be treated fairly, efficiently and effectively by the administration of justice. The rights to due process of law place limitations on laws and legal proceedings, in order to guarantee fundamental fairness and justice. The rights to due process of law guarantees quality in terms of administration of justice, quality in terms of protection of the rights of the parties involved, efficiency and effectiveness. The right to a fair trial does not focus on a single issue, but rather consists of a complex set of rules and practices. A number of individual rights and principles related to the right to a fair trial have been developed, including: the right to a fair hearing; the right to a public hearing and pronouncement of judgment; equality of arms; presumption of innocence; freedom from compulsory self-incrimination; the right to know the accusation; adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense; the right to legal assistance; the right to examine witnesses; the right to an interpreter; the right to appeal in criminal matters; the rights of juvenile offenders; and no punishment without law. 
5. Right to vote and participate in government

The right to vote and participate is a composite of the right and opportunity to vote, the right and opportunity to be elected and the freedom of association, including the right to form and join organizations and associations concerned with political and public affairs, which is an essential adjunct to the right. 

The Human Rights Committee has emphasized the duty of the state to ensure that people entitled to vote are able to exercise that right. Interference with voting should be prohibited by penal law and the states should take measures to overcome specific difficulties impeding the free enjoyment of the right, such as language, illiteracy or poverty. Furthermore, participation and political rights form part of the right to self-determination, the right of peoples to ‘freely determine their political status and to enjoy the right to choose the form of their constitution or government. To participate in one's government is the duty of all adult citizens. People should be able to participate in decision-making process, especially those that affect them and their children's future. It is the duty of every citizen to contribute to their national development and work for the betterment of their societies. It should be noted that citizens must participate socially and economically in running the affairs of their governments. Hence, government cannot do all, individuals in their local communities must be engaged in activities that improve their lives, such as setting up community development programs, and to engage in honest open debates on issues affecting their communities.  

 II. Economic, social, and cultural (ESC) Rights

Economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights are those that enable people to meet basic human subsistence and socioeconomic needs.  The ESC rights in the ICESCR include the rights to health, to housing, to food, to education, to work, and the right to social security. 

1. Right to health

In the right to health, states should provide the following basic services such as access to maternal and child health care, including family planning; immunization against the major infectious diseases; appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries; d) essential drugs; e) adequate supply of safe water and basic sanitation; and  freedom from serious environmental health threats. The obligation to respect the right to health includes the obligation to respect equal access to health services, on the one hand, and the obligation to refrain from activities that are detrimental to health such as environmental pollution, on the other. The obligation to protect the right to health includes the obligation to take legislative and other measures to ensure that people have equal access to health services provided by third parties, and the obligation to protect people from health infringements by third parties. Finally, the obligation to fulfill includes the adoption by the state of a national health policy, and that it devotes a sufficient percentage of its available budget to health.

2. Right to housing

The right to adequate housing derives from the right to an adequate standard of living and is of central importance for the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights. The right to adequate housing is enshrined in most major human rights instruments adopted by the United Nations. Individuals, as well as families, are entitled to adequate housing regardless of factors such as age, economic status, group or other affiliation or status. Thus, the enjoyment of this right may not be subject to any form of discrimination. The right to housing means more than just a roof over one’s head. It should be seen as the right to live somewhere in security, peace, and dignity. For housing to be adequate it must be situated so as to allow access to employment, health care services, schools, childcare centers and other social facilities. It must not be located in polluted areas. The notion of adequacy differs from country to country, but the right to adequate housing should not be interpreted in a narrow sense as merely having a roof over one’s head. Adequate housing implies the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity. Certain elements need to be taken into account at all times, according to the Committee. These are: security of tenure; for example, legal protection from eviction; availability of services; for example, sustainable access to water, sanitation and emergency services; affordability; for example, housing costs as a ratio of income ; habitability; for example, the soundness of physical structure, dampness, and crowding; accessibility; for example, by all ethnic, racial, national minority or other social groups ; location; for example, in relation to employment and schools; and cultural adequacy; for example, taking into account traditional housing patterns. 

3.     Right to food

The right to food is a human right recognized under international law which protects the right of all human beings to feed themselves in dignity, either by producing their food or by purchasing it. To produce his or her own food, a person needs land, seeds, water and other resources, and to buy it, one needs money and access to the market. The right to food protects the right of all human beings to be free from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. The right to food does not imply that governments have an obligation to hand out free food to everyone who wants it, or a right to be fed. However, if people are deprived of access to food for reasons beyond their control, for example, because they are in detention, in times of war or after natural disasters, the right requires the government to provide food directly. 

The right to food therefore requires States to provide an enabling environment in which people can use their full potential to produce or procure adequate food for themselves and their families. To purchase food, a person needs adequate incomes: the right to food consequently requires States to ensure that wage policies or social safety nets enable citizens to realize their right to adequate food. The right to food is a human, legal and clearly defined right which gives rise to obligations of states to reduce both chronic undernourishment and malnutrition. It protects the right of all human beings to live in dignity, free from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. The right to food is not about charity, but about ensuring that all people have the capacity to feed themselves in dignity.

4. The right to education

Education is imperative to the promotion of human rights; it is both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights. It is the precondition for the enjoyment of many economic, social and cultural rights; for instance, the right to receive higher education on the basis of ability, the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and the right to choose work can only be exercised in a meaningful way after a minimum level of education is reached. Education is vital to empowering women, to safeguarding children from exploitation and hazardous labor, to the promotion of human rights and democracy and to the protection of the environment. Education, however, is frequently discussed in the language of economics. Governments often simply equate an investment in education with an investment in the national economy. Educational services, especially at the tertiary level, are habitually considered tradable goods - removed from a wider human rights context. Core elements of the right to education, including entitlement to free and compulsory primary education, availability of different forms of secondary education, access to higher education on the basis of capacity and on non-discriminatory terms, and protection and improvement of conditions for teachers. 

5. The right to work

The right to work, in a broad sense, implies the right to enter employment, to free choice of employment, to form and join trade unions, to favorable conditions of work, non-discrimination and the right not to be deprived of employment unfairly. The first component encompasses the factors that come into play regarding access to work; such as education, vocational training, and unemployment levels. The latter component deals with issues regarding employment security, for instance, security from being fired unjustly. 

The main elements of the right to work are access to employment, freedom from forced labor and labor security. Other important components are: the freedom to work; freedom concerning the choice of occupation as well as the place of performance; the right to earn a living from work of one’s own choice, encompassing the freedom to establish one’s own independent form of employment or business; the right to free employment services; the right to safe and healthy working conditions, as well as rest, leisure and reasonable working hours; the right to employment; the right not to be arbitrarily dismissed and the right to protection against unemployment.  

6. Right to social security

The right to social security is recognized as a human right and establishes the right to social security assistance for those unable to work due to sickness, disability, maternity, employment injury, unemployment or old age. Social security systems provided for by states consist of social insurance programs, which provide earned benefits for workers and their families by employment contributions, and/or social assistance programs which provide non-contributory benefits designed to provide minimum levels of social security to persons unable to access social insurance. The right to social security offers protection to the most vulnerable members of society. It guarantees that everyone will be provided with the minimum goods and services required for a dignified life. It is the duty of the state to make sure that everyone in its territory is afforded protection against accidents, hardship, and sickness. It is the obligation of the state to make sure that they are provided with adequate food, healthcare, housing, and are protected against adversities.

Students are better to live away from parents rather than staying with them while studying at a university. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Living environment has a great influence on students’ life, especially in academic year at university. Changing our lives from high school to university maybe difficult and the decision to live away from parents has to be made. Some have an opinion that students at university level better not to stay in their home. There are some good points and bad points of living away from parents while studying at a university.

First of all, it makes you more independent. For instance, it provides you a lot of opportunities to learn qualities such as punctuality, cleanliness, self -care and so on. Students organize their work without their parents' instructions, and at the same time they can find out time for their recreational activities. Another reason that they can interact with students from different family background, they learn how to maintain relationship with different kinds of people. They learn importance of co-operation in social life. More importantly, living away from home provides you a college experience. It is hard to get a true college experience when living with your parents because it is not exactly the real world. So, living away from home can be a good learning experience and one that can help you begin to manage your own financial resources. Furthermore, it makes you feel more freedom. Besides, you can decide what to do or not to do by yourself. You can decide to buy something that you really need without asking your parents.   You can also decide what subject or major that you want to study and want to be in the future. 

Moreover, living far away from home helps you improve your knowledge. This part, students can concentrate more on their studies. Even lazy students may be persuaded to do their homework when others are engaged with the studies. Combine studies are the positive aspect of hostel life. At the time of examinations students gathered together to study their lessons. This is because they do not feel any boredom with their study and they can also clarify their doubts instantly with their companions. So, when students stay together they can improve their academic skills. In addition, living far away from home can teach you the invaluable lesson of living in harmony with other people. We learn to live with many roommates, and sometimes, bear with their bad habits. We learn to tolerate, as well as respect others. Apparently, it is like you are living in a small society, and this will help you a lot in getting along with people later in your career.

However, too many students coming from distant provinces, the experience of living away from home may be one of the most difficult parts in their university life. This can be really unforgettable and exciting, and at the same time, it also provides us some problems that we have to face while attending university. The major, and also a very common, problem that students have to face is that once we start a regular life away from home, we always get homesick. Missing our family and the attention they paid to us is a very usual thing to do. We can even miss little moments that we share with our family, such as sitting together in a couch watching TV shows, or telling your parents about your school day during family meals, and coming home from schools, greeting your parents, Mom, Dad, I’m home!”. Besides, we often miss all the facilities we used to have back at home, like our bedrooms, our beloved bed, our stuffed animals, and even our bathrooms. As a result, we start to realize how valuable our family are, and appreciate everything we had back where we used to belong. What’s more, once we live far away from home, we have to learn how to do things by ourselves. Say goodbye to the carefree life, and step into a life full of duties. Now we have to worry about every aspects of our life, from bigger ones such as balancing our budget to smaller tasks like cleaning our rooms, doing our washing up, or cooking our own meals. 

Another problem is costs of living. When you live at home, you don’t worry about paying anything, but when you stay away from home, you have to pay everything such as renting house and daily food. You don’t have enough resources for living. You don’t have enough tools, equipment, and modern thing to use. What’s more, a university education is becoming almost expensive. So, Living with parents is the smartest money saving decision you can make. One more, living away from parents offer an uncontrolled environment for students where they can do whatever they want. So there may be greater chances to do some mischievous activities. If students stay in their home, they will be under the strict supervision of their parents. In addition, some students start to do smoking and drink alcohol with their hostel life. 

To sum up, although living away from parents while studying university has some problems, it provides you a lot of benefits such as independent, have more relationship, experience life by yourself, freedom and an opportunity to improve your knowledge. In my opinion, living far away from parents can be difficult at the beginning, but I strongly believe that if there is a strong determination to struggle those difficulties, you will be used to it and many of these problems can be solved.

Differences between the Presidential and Parliamentary systems

A nation’s type of government refers to how that state’s executive, legislative, and judicial organs are organized. All nations need some sort of government to avoid anarchy. Democratic governments are those that permit the nation’s citizens to manage their government either directly or through elected representatives. This is opposed to authoritarian governments that limit or prohibit the direct participation of its citizens. Two of the most popular types of democratic governments are the presidential and parliamentary systems. The most striking difference between presidential and parliamentary system is in the election of the chief executive.

I.            Parliamentary system

 

Parliamentary system is a type of democratic government that is used in many countries such as, Australia, the Great Britain, Cambodia, and so on. In parliamentary system, the head of government, the Prime Minister, is a member of parliament elected by other members of parliament. This characteristic means that the prime minister is responsible to the other members of parliament and through the voters. The Election in the Parliamentary system focuses on 3 stages:

• Stage 1: Voters elect Parties or representatives from political parties. 

The government as a whole is not directly elected by the voters but is appointed indirectly amongst the representatives whom they elect to the assembly. In addition, majority parties in parliamentary systems are perceived by voters to have a mandate to run the country. Therefore, each party may develop a system of punishments and rewards. Individual members of the legislature who deviate from a party vote may be punished by exclusion from their party within parliament or may not be nominated by the party in the subsequent election. 

 

Similarly, opposition parties theoretically want to maximize their power in a system dominated by the majority by voting as a block and squelching internal dissent. Opposition party discipline is more likely if the party or parties perceive that they can eventually gain the majority. Consequently, for both majority and minority parties in parliament, important policy decisions are made within party structures, such as party caucuses, rather than within the legislature itself. Obviously, it is not possible for the legislature and executive to be controlled by different parties in a parliamentary system. 

• Stage 2: Coalition (all members of parliament) elects and ousts the Prime Minister. 

The Prime Minister is the leader of the party that wins the majority of votes to the legislature (either de facto, or in some cases through an election held by the legislature). The Prime Minister appoints Cabinet Ministers. These members are typically themselves legislative members from the ruling party or ruling coalition. Thus, in a parliamentary system, the constituency of the executive and legislature are the same. If the ruling party is voted out of the legislature, the executive also changes. Continued co-operation between the executive and legislature is required for the government to survive and to be effective in carrying out its programs. 

 

In a parliamentary system, the Prime Minister can be removed from office in two ways. The first is through a ‘no-confidence’ motion, which is typically filed by the opposition or a coalition of opposition parties. If the vote passes by a majority, the Executive, including the Prime Minister, is forced to step down. Since the Prime Minister and his cabinet of ministers are members of the legislature, this brings about new legislative elections. However, the Prime Minister can be removed by his/her own party members, in a setting outside of the legislature. For example, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was removed by party vote and replaced by John Major during the Conservative Party caucus. Such a removal, whereby the party decides to change its leader, does not force legislative elections. 

 

In a parliamentary system, a majority win by a given political party also gives the party control of the executive branch of government: the head of the winning party becomes the Prime Minister (chief executive), with party members being appointed to the cabinet.

• Stage 3: Cabinet guides ministries 

The term parliamentary system does not mean that a country is ruled by different parties in coalition with each other. Such multi-party arrangements are usually the product of a voting system known as proportional representation. The executive is typically a cabinet, and headed by a prime minister who is considered the head of government. The prime minister and the ministers of the cabinet typically have their background in the parliament and may remain members thereof while serving in cabinet. The leader of the leading party or group of parties, in the parliament is often appointed as the prime minister. 

 

In parliamentary systems the prime minister becomes the dominant figure because of his or her status as legislative party leader and the majority party’s control of both legislative and executive branches. The majority party, led by the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers, meets to establish policy, while the opposition parties meet to plan strategy and expose weaknesses in the majority party’s policy plans. The chief executive and his/her cabinet initiate any piece of legislation affecting the budget or revenue.

 

II.            Presidential system

 

Parliamentary system is another type of democratic government that is used in many countries such as, the United States, Philippines, Indonesia, and so on. In a presidential system, the President (who is the chief executive as well as the symbolic head of government) is chosen by a separate election from that of the legislature.  The Election in the Presidential system also focuses on 3 stages:

 

• Stage 1: Voters elect Parliament.

In a presidential system, the chief executive and members of the legislature are elected separately by the people. Parties play an important role in determining the leadership of legislative institutions. In the US and some other presidential system, the presiding officer of the lower house, The Speaker, is also the leader of the majority party. (In the Philippines, it is the President of the Senate, or upper house, which plays a role similar to that of the US Speaker.) He or she is nominated by the majority party and then elected by the whole chamber.

The presidential system is different in that the president is directly elected by the people and thus directly responsible to them. In the U.S. the president must work with Congress to run the government but Congress does not have the power to vote him into his position or remove him through a vote of no confidence as in the parliamentary system. 

• Stage 2: Voters elect President.

The President is both the chief executive and the head of state. The President is unique in that he or she is elected independently of the legislature. In the American presidential system, the legislature must debate and pass various bills. The President has the power to veto the bill, preventing its adoption. However, the legislature may override the President's veto if they can muster enough votes. The American President's broadest powers rest in foreign affairs. The President has the right to deploy the military in most situations, but does not have the right to officially declare war. The presidential system provides for a Chief Executive who is elected for a definite term of office, who holds a wide public mandate as a result of his election, and who is largely independent of the legislative branch for the conduct of his administration.

• Stage 3: President chooses cabinet and cabinet guides ministries.

The President then appoints his or her cabinet of ministers (or "secretaries" in US parlance). Ministers/Secretaries usually are not simultaneously members of the legislature, although their appointment may require the advice and consent of the legislative branch. Because the senior officials of the executive branch are separately elected or appointed, the presidential political system is characterized by a separation of powers, wherein the executive and legislative branches are independent of one another. Presidents have great control over their cabinet appointees who serve at the President’s pleasure.

In a presidential system, the president is the head of government and the head of state. As the head of government, he or she oversees the operations of the government and fulfills certain duties, such as appointing officials and advisers to help run the government, signing or vetoing laws passed by the legislature and establishing an annual budget. A president's duties as head of state include tasks such as making speeches, representing the country at public events, hosting or visiting diplomats from other countries, and presenting prestigious national awards.

Conclusion

The most striking difference between presidential and parliamentary system is in the election of the chief executive. In parliament systems, the executive is not chosen by the people but by the legislature. Typically the majority party in the parliament chooses the chief executive, known as the Prime Minister. However, in some parliaments there are so many parties represented that none hold a majority. Parliament members must decide among themselves whom to elect as Prime Minister. The fusion of the legislative and executive branches in the parliamentary system tends to lead to more discipline among political party members. Party members in parliaments almost always vote strictly alone party lines. Presidential systems, on the contrary, are less disciplined and legislators are free to vote their conscious with fewer repercussions from their party.