Content and scope of human rights

Human rights include various types of rights, ranging from liberal or ‘bourgeois’ rights to social and economic rights to cultural and religious and also civil and political rights. Chris Brown has identified three generations of rights as part of evolution of content of human rights.⁸¹ These are:

• First Generation Rights: Internationally available law and declarations initially concentrated on rights such as freedom of speech, and assembly, the right to take part in the government of the country, directly or through the chosen representatives, etc. The Universal Declaration, 1948 focused on such rights, which are civil and political in nature. These rights have been considered essential from the perspective of an open and democratic society. Article 21 of the UN Universal Declaration spells this out.
• Second Generation Rights: Second generation rights have been generally identified with rights, which are in the nature of economic, social and cultural rights that are thought to be indispensable for dignity and development of personality of members of human society. Article 22 of the UN Universal Declaration spells this out and these rights also feature in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It has also been argued that ‘appearance of social and economic rights in human rights instruments can probably be traced back to the International Labour Organization.’⁸² Influence and proposals of the International Labour Organiszation (ILO) to include full employment as commitment of member states could be seen in Article 22 to 28 in the Universal Declaration, 1948. These Articles provide for right to social security, right to work, right to rest and leisure, right to adequate standard of living, right to education and participate in cultural life appearing
• Third Generation of Rights: While the first and the second generation rights mainly focus on individual as the concern, third generation rights concentrate on collective dimension and take the concerns of ‘peoples’. Particularly, the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights, 1981 provides that ‘peoples have the right to “freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources”, serve natural community, preserve and strengthen African cultural values.’⁸³

Human rights appear to contain three generation of rights—civil and political rights; social, economic and cultural rights; and collective or peoples’ rights. The first generation of rights are influenced by natural rights and liberal theories, the second generation of rights by the positive liberal and socialist theories and the third generation of rights are influenced by the collective, national or pan national identities, e.g. African identity, etc. While the first generation rights are largely conducive to the promotion of democratic values, the second generation rights are social democratic and welfare concerns and the third generation rights are for communitarian rights.