Generations of human rights: the concept of

Today, the basic human rights and freedoms are regarded as the norm: the right to work, rest, education, free religion, etc. Some of them are included in the category of "natural" rights. This is the right to life, the opportunity to educate your own children and so on. But it was not always so. Only some 400-500 years ago, which relatively recently by the standards of human history, such a lot could only dream of. The evolution of a person from a "talking tool" into a free and independent person occurred through three generations of human rights. Each of them is characterized by new, qualitative changes in the social order. What is a generation of human rights will be discussed later.

First mentions

First about who first put forward this concept. For the first time the evolution of society was proposed to be divided into three generations of human rights in 1979 in Strasbourg, in the International Institute of Human Rights. The idea was put forward by the Czech lawyer Karel Fazak.

Theoretical basis

Generations of human rights are an artificial concept in the social sciences. Nobody "lobbied" their policy under this. The basis of all three is the slogans of the French Revolution: Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood. The French declaration of human rights and freedoms has become the theoretical basis for other countries in Europe and America. A similar idea was put forward by the US in its Declaration of Independence, many socialist and communist ideologies also took this idea as a basis in the political struggle.

The first generation of human rights ("blue rights")

The first generation is recognized by all social scientists, jurists, historians. It is associated with a theoretical understanding of the society of natural and political rights and freedoms :

• the right to live;
• For a free religion;
• voting right;
• The right of everyone to participate in the political life of the country;
• To a fair trial system;
• To free labor, etc.

Today these principles seem to us natural, understandable. If they are violated, then we most likely begin to publicly shout about arbitrariness, write complaints, apply to the media, spread the violation on the Internet. Sometimes it leads to loud resignations, scandals, exposure. But it was not always so. Only 4-5 centuries ago, many could not imagine that at birth all are equal. It was believed that the higher forces themselves determine the fate. Going against the social foundations means to anger God. Until now, such a tradition is reflected in folk folklore. You can also recall our proverbs: "where you were born, where it came in handy," "obedience is better than reverence," "do not talk much in the presence of great souls," etc. They inherently inherited the traditions of inequality from nature.

The collapse of the old foundations

Traditional social foundations were destroyed by the following Declarations:

• Magna Carta.
• English bill of rights.
• The French declaration of human rights and freedoms.
• Bill of Rights of the United States of America.
• Declaration of US Independence.

All these historical documents, which operated on a local level, formed the basis of international legal documents. The concept of three generations of human rights appeared thanks to the legal acts listed above. Although they have not had the status of a state document for a long time. It is not known how the theory of the generation of human rights would develop if history developed in a different scenario: States in America would lose the war for independence, and royal power in France would brutally suppress revolutionary performances. However, we believe that humanity would still reach the social order that has developed today. And today in some countries there are reactionary forces that try to stop the development of human consciousness. But they restrain the development of a maximum of one human generation. The genesis of rights and freedoms is moving forward.

Current international legal norms

On the basis of the Declarations of the first generation, modern international legal norms have been created:

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966.
• European Convention on Human Rights, 1953.

The second generation of human rights ("red rights")

The second generation is also recognized by almost all social scientists. This concept is related to events after the Second World War. There was a collapse of imperialism, the exploitation of one nation over others ended. In the society, economic and social rights were actively disseminated.

The difference between the first generation and the second

We group the distinctive properties of the first generation of human rights and the second in the form of a table:

Economic inequality neutralizes political rights

In the 20th century, political and natural rights were formally respected. However, they were leveled by other inequalities: social and economic. This meant that a person had the right to life, no one had the right to kill him on the street as a slave, which happened earlier in many slave states. But there was no equality in social and economic rights. For example, in hospitals, some people were denied first aid, many did not have the right to receive education in schools, and so on.

Let's imagine the situation that the director of a municipal school began to selectively allow those who have the right to attend school to choose at their own discretion. Now this seems unlikely, but only 50-100 years ago this was the norm. Education and health care was considered a luxury, expensive services that all people can not afford. It is possible today to refer to the fact that there are paid hospitals, educational institutions that many people can not afford. To this we reply that the standards of education and health are one for all. Distinguished only by service, service, external manifestation.

Theoretical base of the second generation

The second generation is based on the following international legal documents:

• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
• The second bill on Roosevelt 's rights .
• European Social Charter.

The second generation of human rights is called "red" rights. They oblige the state to fulfill the basic obligations to all citizens in the social sphere, health care, education, etc.

"Green rights" - development of collective sense of justice

The third generation of human rights is conditionally called "green rights". Unlike the other two, in science, few people distinguish it. For many, the concept of generations of human rights is limited to two. However, most disagree with them. Let us analyze their arguments.

Progressive development forward

So, generations of human rights and freedoms give new qualitative changes in the public consciousness. If in the first generation these are the basic natural and political rights, in the second - social and economic, then in the third generation - the formation of collective rights. It does not focus on any area separately. The very concept proposes to develop the rights of collectives in all spheres of society.

This is based on the fact that an individual by himself can not defend his rights alone. It is necessary to unite. After the Second World War, it is precisely public organizations that are developing: trade unions, public organizations, political parties.

Even large financial companies create Unions: industrialists, truckers, agricultural producers. The goal for all is one: to coordinate their actions in the face of danger.

Unite in large unions by industry and state. For example, oil-exporting countries have joined OPEC in order to develop common rules on the market.

If large states, companies create collective security, then the individual needs to unite for joint advocacy of his interests.

The liberals disagree with this view. They believe that it is necessary to protect every single individual, and then the collective as a whole will be protected. This position is failing every day. In the 20th century, the struggle for human rights was associated with religion, color, political views, labor relations, the rejection of traditional values of the family, marriage, etc. At the end, it was understood that only collective protection is able to protect the rights of an individual.

Results

We examined generations of human rights and freedoms. Let's sum up. To date, our society can not find a middle ground. Always the right of one person leads to the violation of the rights of the other. Modern integration processes in Europe have revealed a clear crisis in the policy of tolerance and tolerance. The civilization of the West is going through the hardest times. All that she fought for was ineffective in the face of a new danger - terrorism and migration. Suffice it to recall cases of sexual harassment in Berlin, explosions in Paris. This is because the traditional East does not understand the progressive West. We need solutions: either to protect ourselves from the East, or to accept its values. Liberal policy did not lead to anything good, because migrants quickly begin to "beat" Europeans with their own coins: to call for freedom of movement, tolerance, equality of labor relations.