Rights are the freedom bestowed on a person or people enabling them to perform certain actions or assume ownership of certain things. Human rights are said to be universal and inalienable and accrue by virtue of existence as a human being. Human rights are also indivisible and interdependent, as they define the interaction and obligations among individuals and between individuals and the State. The legitimacy of rights rests on their recognition by a society or State. Essentially, what this means is that a State makes provisions for the rights afforded to its citizens and enforces these rights through relevant organs of government.
SOURCES OF CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS
The rights of citizens defined and enforced by a state can either be written or unwritten. If written, the provisions are entrenched in a codified document such as the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Therefore, one major source of civil and political rights is the constitution of a State.
International conventions and treaties constitute another source of civil and political rights. A treaty is an agreement between sovereign States; in some instances, the agreement may extend to other international actors such as multinational corporations. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is one of such treaties. It was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 19th December 1966. The ICCPR makes provision for several human rights, with emphasis on civil and political rights. In fact, the main purpose of the ICCPR is to ensure the protection of the rights that enable citizens to fully participate in politics and carry out activities within the civic space.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a document encapsulating human rights, including civil and political rights, which was adopted by the United Nations on 10th December 1948. This International document is often referred to as the first legal document stipulating the fundamental human rights to be universally protected by all States, and as such is inclusive of civil and political rights such as the rights to life, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, participation in governance, among others.
SOURCES OF CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS?
Although often interwoven, civil and political rights can be distinguished. Civil rights put emphasis on physical and mental integrity, as well as safety and protection on several grounds including gender, ethnicity, religion and expression. Political rights on the other hand focus on natural justice and ensure that citizens play a role in the political process.
These include the right to a fair trial, the right to take part in government and universal suffrage i.e., right to vote. However, constitutions of several democratic States, such as the Nigerian Constitution, seldom make this distinction. Instead, these rights are laid out in a somewhat encompassing manner.
Civil and political rights are broadly categorised below:
- Right to life
- Right to dignity of human person
- Right to personal liberty
- Right to private and family life
- Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
- Right to freedom of movement
- Right to freedom from every form of discrimination
- Right to personal liberty
- Right to freedom of expression and the press
- Right to peaceful assembly and association
- Right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria
- Right to fair hearing
- Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile
- Right to participate in government and universal suffrage
UNDERSTANDING DEROGABLE AND NON-DEROGABLE RIGHTS
There are certain instances in which some of these rights can be restricted or infringed. These circumstances include a civil war, an invasion or a state of emergency. In human rights parlance, this is referred to as “derogability” and such rights are termed “derogable rights”. It is important to note that regardless of what these circumstances may be restrictions to rights have to be proportionate and justifiable. On the other hand, there are certain rights that cannot be restricted. These are referred to as “non-derogable rights”.
Derogable Rights
Section 45 of the Federal Constitution of Nigeria 1999 classifies five rights as derogable and itemizes grounds on which they can be restricted. These grounds include: on the basis of interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, or for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other persons. These rights include:
- Right to private and family life
- Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
- Right to freedom of expression and the press
- Right to peaceful assembly and association
- Right to freedom of movement
Non-derogable Rights
- Right to life
- Freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment
- Freedom from slavery and servitude
- Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
- No retrospective operation of criminal laws
- Right to recognition by law
RIGHTS RECOGNISED IN NIGERIA’S CONSTITUTION
The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria makes provision for the civil and political rights of citizens in sections 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 and 43.
Section 33 – Right to life
Section 34 – Right to dignity of human person
Section 35 – Right to personal liberty
Section 36 – Right to fair hearing
Section 37 – Right to private and family life
Section 38 – Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
Section 39 – Right to freedom of expression and the press
Section 40 – Right to peaceful assembly and association
Section 41 – Right to freedom of movement
Section 42 – Right to freedom from discrimination
Section 43 – Right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria
Photo Credit: LawPadi
Sources
- https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
- https://asiapacific.gchumanrights.org/2020/08/17/know-your-rights-civil-political-rights/
- https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx
- https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/pages/whatarehumanrights.aspx
- https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/human-rights/what-are-human-rights
- https://placng.org/i/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Constitution-of-the-Federal-Republic-of-Nigeria.pdf
- https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/what-are-human-rights