Government Obligations

The responsibility of national governments to uphold and implement international human rights standards is not in doubt. International human rights law is a subset of public international law, and as such, it engages the commitment of nation states.

The applicability of international human rights treaties to ratifying states is not controversial and there is no ambiguity about the general principle that governments are accountable for human rights standards. There is, however, considerably less clarity about the nature of government obligations.  As political philosophers regularly observe, the notion that some actors hold rights implies that others have duties. Within a universal and global human rights framework, individual human beings are the named rights holders and governments are considered the principal duty bearers.  But what is the nature of that duty?

This question has been considered in different contexts, including the International Law Commission’s (ILC) work on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts and in conjunction with implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.  Over the past two decades a consensus has emerged that with respect to international human rights states have a threefold responsibility:  to respect, to protect, and to fulfill their obligations.  As expounded by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,

  • The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights.
  • The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses.
  • The obligation to fulfill means that States must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights.

Policy analysis based on this tripartite understanding of duty bearer responsibilities is commonly known as a “human rights based approach” (HRBA).

Resources

International Standards — Treaties and Other Human Rights Instruments

Mechanisms for Implementation of Legal Standards and International Policy

Scholarship

  • Alston, Phillip. “Out of the Abyss:  Challenges Confronting the New U.N. Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.”  Human Rights Quarterly, 1987, Vol 9, No. 3 (1987):  332-381.
  • Fagan, Andrew.  “Human Rights,” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.  Updated July, 2005.
  • Nelson, Paul J. and Ellen  Dorsey. New Rights Advocacy: Changing Strategies of Development and Human Rights NGOs. Washington, D.C.:  Georgetown University Press, 2008.

Advocacy for a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) and Mainstreaming Human Rights

Training Materials, Human Rights Based Approach

Case Studies and Application

All Topics


Human Rights Glossary

ESC Rights

ESC – Economic, social and cultural rights.  Generally understood to be those included in the ICESCR, although ESC rights are no longer considered a discrete category of rights.

See more human rights glossary terms…

Human Rights Policy Resources

Human Rights: From Practice to Policy

Download the 2010 Conference Proceedings

Human Rights: From Practice to Policy Cover


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