Centre for Monitoring Democratic Processes «Quorum»

According to the national and international rules of law, all people equal possibilities to satisfy the basic needs providing development of the person and its high-grade participation in a life of a society are given.

Human rights reflect the minimum set of the vital blessings in grazhdansko-political and social and economic spheres. The most standard is the list of the rights fixed in the main remedial document of the United Nations — Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Structure and the formation of the concept

According to national and international law, all people are given equal opportunities to meet their basic needs for personal development and their full participation in society.

Human rights represent a minimum set of benefits to civil and political, and socio-economic fields. The most commonly accepted is the list of rights enshrined in the main human rights instruments Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Of civil and political rights (Universal Declaration Article 3–21) of most relevance to the present time are:

• right to own property (Art. 17),
• right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Art. 18),
• right to freedom of opinion and freedom of expression (Article 19).

Among the socio-economic rights (Art. 22–27 Universal Declaration) often pay attention to:

• right to social security (art. 22),
• right to work and free choice of employment, subject to equal pay for equal work, to just and favorable remuneration ensuring a dignified existence, as well as the right to form trade unions (Art. 23).

Nevertheless, the list of human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration, can not be considered an ideal formulation, because this list is something inadequate, and in than — then redundant. On the one hand, many rights are not specified, which makes them expressed in many declarative (for example, it is difficult to give an objective assessment of what «a dignified existence» or «free choice of work»). On the other hand, many of the rights enshrined rather difficult to perform even the most wealthy and developed world, due what they can not provide in full (for example, in all over the world, there is the informal economy, which violates the principle of equal pay for equal work in the formal sector workers).

Along with set forth in the Universal Declaration of the general list of human rights in the constitutional documents of each State, there are other lists. It lists the rights which, according to national legislation, citizens of the State, reflect national circumstances and may be markedly different from that set forth in the Declaration. For example, in the American Bill of Rights has the right to bear arms (Second Amendment to the U. S. Constitution), which is not in most countries of the world. The national constitution must not contradict the international Universal Declaration. Therefore, protecting the rights of citizens, national legal standards of the State must specify and complement the common law rights, but not reduce them.

concept of human rights is based on individualistic values — it protects the individual from coercion by the state, nation, class or other social community. In modern society, with this usually means the protection of minorities (religious, ethnic, political, etc.) from imposing his will on the majority.

Virtually all societies to a new era has been characterized the notion that the common form of behavior is the only «correct». People who did not wish to abide by the generally accepted forms of behavior, undermining the foundations of society, and considered his enemies, and, depending on the severity of their disobedience, or to be re-destroyed. The coexistence of different opinions was viewed merely as a political necessity forced. Representatives of «outsiders» religions or ethnic groups are often subjected to restrictions of rights, as compared with the indigenous population: more taxes, restrictions on the employment of staff, «pale» etc.

first elements of the protection of human rights have emerged in medieval Western Europe. In England, the fundamental rights of citizens were registered in the Magna Carta in 1215, according to which the king had no right to impose additional tax-free Englishmen without their consent, and deprive them of liberty and property without a court verdict (ie, in the Charter establishes the right of property and privacy). But to enjoy these rights to only a minority of English people, because the bulk of the population, feudal-dependent peasants, were not among the free. Magna Carta, in many respects ahead of its time and was totally popular only in the era of the new era, after the elimination of feudal dependence.

complex picture of human rights started to emerge only in the 16–18 centuries. in Western Europe as a result of the experience of religious wars and political struggles of Parliament with the royal power.

The first at that time was the question of the rights of religious dissidents (dissent). For the first time in the world, their rights have been legally established in France in Nantes edict in 1598 that the French Protestant (Huguenot) received a formal right to practice their religion (ie the right to freedom of conscience).

Since the end of the XVII century. topping role in protecting human rights has come to England again. After the civil wars in XVII. Under the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 (Act on the inviolability of the person) and several other laws were finally abolished the royal government claims to absolute power and a regime of «rule of law», which protects freedom of conscience, speech, press, property rights, etc. Now human rights are the theoretical justification in the writings of J. Locke. This thinker first clearly formulated the idea of «natural right»: a person is the highest social value, it «by nature» has an inalienable right (to life, liberty, etc.) that can not be deprived by anyone. Individualistic ideology of the Enlightenment began to consider a deviation from accepted norms of human is not as flawed, but as a manifestation of his personality development which will benefit not only the individual but also society.

next step in the development of understanding of human rights was made at the end of the XVIII century. after the ideas of French liberal thinkers of the Enlightenment have become a practical guide for leaders of the American War of Independence and the French Revolution. Already in the American Declaration of Independence in 1776 contained the phrase that became canonical — «… all people are created equal, and they are all gifted to the creator of equal unalienable rights, among which belongs to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness» . The rights of citizens were systematized in almost simultaneously adopted in 1789, the Declaration of Human Rights and the citizen (in France) and the Bill of Rights (U.S.). Influenced by American and French revolutions in the XIX century, the concept of human rights has become common in almost all countries, with European culture.