This is all about Human Rights and its any concepts related to it.

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Janiuay Campus
SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Prepared by: John Ver G. Sosas, Arhmie Joy Geronimo and Dephanie Palermo
HUMAN RIGHTS
These are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place ofresidence, sex, national or
ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. These rights are quite independent of social
circumstances or the achievement level which the individual has attained. A person’s human rights cannot be
relinquished, transferred or forfeited by the actions of another individual. Additional rights which a person
may have are largely derived from the human rights which are basic to each individual. All of us are equally
entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.
UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS
These are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary international law,
general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law lays down obligations
of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human
rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.
MAIN CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
1. Natural Rights – Rights possessed by every citizen without being granted by the State. These rights are
conferred by God to human being so that he may live a happy life. (E.g. Right to love, Right to live etc.)
2. Constitutional Rights – Rights conferred and protected by the Constitution. Since these rights are part of
the fundamental law, they cannot be modified or taken away by the law-making body.
CLASSIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
1. Political Rights – Rights which give citizens the power to participate directly or indirectly in the
establishment of administration of the government.
2. Civil Rights – Rights which the law will enforce at the instance of private individuals for the purpose of
securing them the enjoyment of their means of happiness.
3. Social and Economic Rights – Rights that are intended to insure the well-being and economic security of the
individuals.
4. Rights of the Accused – These rights are intended for the protection of a person accused of any crime.
5. Statutory Rights – These are provided by laws promulgated by the law-making body, and consequently, may
be abolished by the same body.
METHODS OF ACQUIRING CITIZENSHIP
1. Jus Sanguinis – Blood relationship is the basis for the acquisition under this rule. The children follow the
citizenship of the parents or one of them.
2. Jus Soli – Place of birth serves as the basis for acquiring citizenship under this rule.
3. Marriage
4. Naturalization
DUTIES AND OBLIGATION OF A CITIZEN
1. To be loyal to the Republic
2. To defend the State
3. To contribute to the development and welfare of the State
4. To uphold the Constitution and obey the laws
5. To cooperate with the duly constituted authorities
6. To exercise rights responsibly and with due regard for the rights of others
7. To engage in gainful work
8. To register and vote
SCOPE OF SUFFRAGE
1. Election – A political exercise whereby the sovereign people choose a candidate to fill up an elective
government position.
2. Plebiscite – A political right of the sovereign people to ratify or reject constitutional amendments or
proposed laws.
3. Referendum – The right reserved to the people to adopt or reject any act or measure which have been
passed by a legislative body.
4. Initiative – The power of the people to propose bills and laws, and to enact or reject them at the polls.
5. Recall – A system by which an elected official is ousted by popular vote before the end of his term.

2. WestVisayasStateUniversity
Janiuay Campus
SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Prepared by: John Ver G. Sosas, Arhmie Joy Geronimo and Dephanie Palermo
FAMOUS ADVOCATES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
1. Cleisthenes (600 BC) made military service and civil administration open to the poor in ancient Greece.
2. Pericles (489-429 BC) made democracy complete to all freemen of ancient Greece.
3. Aristotle (384-322 BC) believed that justice and fairness must prevail in all human affairs. Honor and riches
must be granted on the basis of the efforts expended or in the qualities displayed by each individual.
4. Marcus Tulius Cicero (106-43 BC) proposed a well-developed concept of natural law which was eternal and
which applied to all people at all times.
5. George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) believed that the most important agent of history is the state,
which is the creator and protector of values including human rights.]
6. Karl Marx (1818-1883) advocated communism as the only way to protect the rights of the proletarian who
were constantly oppressed by the bourgeois.
7. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1842) believed that the government is the one that issues pious declarations about
the rights of men, yet it is also the one that hampers the implementation of these rights.
8. Thomas Aquinas (1250-1274) advanced the idea that men have the right to disobey manmade legislation
which violates eternal principles of justice and equality.
9. Francois Marie Arouet Voltaire (1694-1778) contended for freedom of the person, the press and religion.
10. Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) argued that if there was much evil in the world, it could not be blamed
on man’s natural inclinations but on the social injustice and inequality which drive man to err.
PACTS AND TREATIES AFFILIATED WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Human Rights Treaties
- These provide the central theme of some of international human rights conventions such as the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
The 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights
- It noted that it is the duty of States to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental
freedoms, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems.
UNIVERSALITY AND INALIENABILITY OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Principle of Universality of Human Rights
- The cornerstone of International Human Rights Law which was first emphasized in the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights in 1948 and has been reiterated in numerous international human rights
conventions, declarations, and resolutions.
Principle of Inalienability of Human Rights
- It states that rights should not be taken away, except in specific situations and according to due
process. For example, the right to liberty may be restricted if a person is found guilty of a crime by a
court of law.
INTERDEPENDENCE AND INDIVISIBILITY OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Principle of Indivisibility of Human Rights
- Whether human rights are civil and political rights, such as the right to life, equality before the law
and freedom of expression; economic, social and cultural rights, such as the rights to work, social
security and education, or collective rights, such as the rights to development and self-determination,
are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent.
Principle of Interdependence of Human Rights
- The improvement of one right facilitates advancement of the others. Likewise, the deprivation of one
right adversely affects the others.
EQUAL AND NON-DISCRIMINATORY HUMAN RIGHTS
Non-Discriminatory Human Rights
- It is a cross-cutting principle in international human rights law as it is being presented in all the major
human rights treaties.
Egalitarianism and Equality of Human Rights
- This principle applies to everyone in relation to all human rights and freedoms and it prohibits
discrimination on the basis of a list of non-exhaustive categories such as sex, race, color and so on.
Note: The principle of non-discrimination is complemented by the principle of equality, as stated in
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in
dignity and rights.”
BOTH RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS
Human rights entail both rights and obligations. States assume obligations and duties under international law to
respect, to protect and to fulfill 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

3. WestVisayasStateUniversity
Janiuay Campus
SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Prepared by: John Ver G. Sosas, Arhmie Joy Geronimo and Dephanie Palermo
take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights. At the individual level, while we are
entitled our human rights, we should also respect the human rights of others.
BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Cyrus Cylinder (539 B.C.)
- In 539 B.C., the armies of Cyrus the Great, the first king of ancient Persia, conquered the city of
Babylon. But it was his next actions that marked a major advance for Man. He freed the slaves,
declared that all people had the right to choose their own religion, and established racial equality.
These and other decrees were recorded on a baked-clay cylinder in the Akkadian language with
cuneiform script.
- Known today as the Cyrus Cylinder, this ancient record has now been recognized as the world’s first
charter of human rights. It is translated into all six official languages of the United Nations and its
provisions parallel the first four Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Spread of Human Rights
- From Babylon, the idea of human rights spread quickly to India, Greece and eventually Rome. There
the concept of “natural law” arose, in observation of the fact that people tended to follow certain
unwritten laws in the course of life, and Roman law was based on rational ideas derived from the
nature of things.
- Documents asserting individual rights, such as the Magna Carta (1215), the Petition of Right (1628),
the US Constitution (1787), the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789),
and the US Bill of Rights (1791) are the written precursors to many of today’s human rights
documents.
The Magna Carta (1215)
- The Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” was arguably the most significant early influence on the
extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today in the English-speaking
world.
- In 1215, after King John of England violated a number of ancient laws and customs by which England
had been governed, his subjects forced him to sign the Magna Carta, which enumerates what later
came to be thought of as human rights. Among them was the right of the church to be free from
governmental interference, the rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property and to be
protected from excessive taxes. It established the right of widows who owned property to choose not
to remarry, and established principles of due process and equality before the law. It also contained
provisions forbidding bribery and official misconduct.
- Widely viewed as one of the most important legal documents in the development of modern democracy,
the Magna Carta was a crucial turning point in the struggle to establish freedom.
Petition of Right (1628)
- The next recorded milestone in the development of human rights was the Petition of Right, produced
in 1628 by the English Parliament and sent to Charles I as a statement of civil liberties. Refusal by
Parliament to finance the king’s unpopular foreign policy had caused his government to exact forced
loans and to quarter troops in subjects’ houses as an economy measure. Arbitrary arrest and
imprisonment for opposing these policies had produced in Parliament a violent hostility to Charles and
to George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham. The Petition of Right, initiated by Sir Edward Coke, was
based upon earlier statutes and charters and asserted four principles: (1) No taxes may be levied
without consent of Parliament, (2) No subject may be imprisoned without cause shown (reaffirmation
of the right of habeas corpus), (3) No soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry, and (4) Martial
law may not be used in time of peace.
United States Declaration of Independence (1776)
- On July 4, 1776, the United States Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. Its primary
author, Thomas Jefferson, wrote the Declaration as a formal explanation of why Congress had voted
on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the
American Revolutionary War, and as a statement announcing that the thirteen American Colonies were
no longer a part of the British Empire. Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several
forms. It was initially published as a printed broadsheet that was widely distributed and read to the
public.
- Philosophically, the Declaration stressed two themes: individual rights and the right of revolution.
These ideas became widely held by Americans and spread internationally as well, influencing in
particular the French Revolution.
Constitution of the USA (1787) and the Bill of Rights (1791)
- Written during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, the Constitution of the United States of America
is the fundamental law of the US federal system of government and the landmark document of the

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SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
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Western world. It is the oldest written national constitution in use and defines the principal organs of
government and their jurisdictions and the basic rights of citizens.
- The first ten amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of Rights—came into effect on December 15,
1791, limiting the powers of the federal government of the United States and protecting the rights of
all citizens, residents and visitors in American territory.
- The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear arms,
the freedom of assembly and the freedom to petition. It also prohibits unreasonable search and
seizure, cruel and unusual punishment and compelled self-incrimination. Among the legal protections it
affords, the Bill of Rights prohibits Congress from making any law respecting establishment of religion
and prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty or property without
due process of law. In federal criminal cases it requires indictment by a grand jury for any capital
offense, or infamous crime, guarantees a speedy public trial with an impartial jury in the district in
which the crime occurred, and prohibits double jeopardy.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)
- In 1789,French brought about the abolishment of the absolute monarchy and set the stage for the
establishment of the first French Republic. Just six weeks after the storming of the Bastille, and
barely three weeks after the abolition of feudalism, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen (French: La Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen) was adopted by the National
Constituent Assembly as the first step toward writing a constitution for the Republic of France.
- The Declaration proclaims that all citizens are to be guaranteed the rights of “liberty, property,
security, and resistance to oppression.” It argues that the need for law derives from the fact that
“...the exercise of the natural rights of each man has only those borders which assure other members
of the society the enjoyment of these same rights.” Thus, the Declaration sees law as an “expression
of the general will,“ intended to promote this equality of rights and to forbid “only actions harmful to
the society.”
The First Geneva Convention (1864)
- In 1864, 16 European countries and several American states attended a conference in Geneva, at the
invitation of the Swiss Federal Council, on the initiative of the Geneva Committee. The conference was
held for the purpose of adopting a convention for the treatment of wounded soldiers in combat.
- The main principles laid down in the Convention and maintained by the later Geneva Conventions
provided for the obligation to extend care without discrimination to wounded and sick military
personnel and respect for and marking of medical personnel transports and equipment with the
distinctive sign of the red cross on a white background.
The United Nations (1945)
- World War II from 1939 to 1945 and as the end drew near, cities throughout Europe and Asia lay in
smoldering ruins. Millions of people were dead; millions more were homeless or starving. Russian forces
were closing in on the remnants of German resistance in Germany’s bombed-out capital of Berlin. In
the Pacific, US Marines were still battling entrenched Japanese forces on such islands as Okinawa.
- In April 1945, delegates from 50 countries met in San Francisco full of optimism and hope. The goal of
the UN Conference on International Organization was to fashion an international body to promote
peace and prevent future wars. The ideals of the organization were stated in the preamble to its
proposed charter: “We the peoples of the United Nations are determined to save succeeding
generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to
mankind.”The Charter of the new United Nations organization went into effect on October 24, 1945, a
date that is celebrated each year as United Nations Day.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
- By 1948, the United Nations’ new Human Rights Commission had captured the world’s attention. Under
the dynamic chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt—President Franklin Roosevelt’s widow, a human rights
champion in her own right and the United States delegate to the UN—the Commission set out to draft
the document that became the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Roosevelt, credited with its
inspiration, referred to the Declaration as the international Magna Carta for all mankind. It was
adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948.
- In its preamble and in Article 1, the Declaration unequivocally proclaims the inherent rights of all
human beings: “Disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have
outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy
freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest
aspiration of the common people...All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
- The Member States of the United Nations pledged to work together to promote the thirty Articles
of human rights that, for the first time in history, had been assembled and codified into a single

5. WestVisayasStateUniversity
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SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
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TREATIES TREATY COLLECTIONS INTERGOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS
NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS
CONSTITUTION DIVINITY INTERNATIONAL
COURTS
BACKGROUND
SOURCES
LAW JOURNALS BOOKS
document. In consequence, many of these rights, in various forms, are today part of the constitutional
laws of democratic nations.
PRIMARY SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
SECONDARY SOURCES OF HUMAN RIGHTS
 United Nations Treaty Collection
 African Charter on Human and Peoples'
Rights
 American Convention on Human Rights
 Convention Against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
 Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, also
known as the European Convention on
Human Rights (ECHR)
 Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women
 Convention on the Political Rights of
Women
 Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
 United Nations. Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights.
 University of Minnesota Human Rights
Library
 United Nations Human Rights: Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights
 Council of Europe: Human Rights and the
Rule of Law
 Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights
 African Union
 African Court on Human and Peoples'
Rights
 African Commission on Human and
Peoples' Rights
 Bible
 Quran or Fatwa
 Vedas
 Torah
 Amnesty International
 Human Rights Watch
 Maastricht Centre for Human Rights
 Human Rights Internet
 African Centre for Democracy and Human
Rights Studies
 Institute for Human Rights and Development in
Africa (IHRDA)
 Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
 Centro de EstudiosLegales y Sociales (CELS)
 Asian Human Rights Commission
 EquipaNizkor
 International Court of
Justice
 International Criminal
Court
 United Nations Human
Rights Committee
 European Court of
Human Rights
 Inter-American Court of
Human Rights
 A Dictionary of Human Rights, by
Robertson, David
 An Encyclopedia of Human Rights
in the United States
 In the reference section of the law
library
 Encyclopedia of Human Rights
 Historical Dictionary of Human
Rights and Humanitarian
Organizations
 Human Rights in the United States:
A dictionary and documents
 International Encyclopedia of
Human Rights: Freedoms, Abuses,
and Remedies
 Encyclopedia of Human Rights
 Encyclopedia of Human Rights
Issues Since 1945
 African Human Rights Law Journal
 Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights
and the Law
 Buffalo Human Rights Journal
 Columbia Human Rights Law Review
 East African Journal of Human Rights &
Democracy
 Harvard Human Rights Journal
 Security and Human Rights (formerly
Helsinki Monitor)
 Human Rights (published by ABA)
 Human Rights & Globalization Law
Review
 Human Rights & International Legal
Discourse
 Human Rights Brief
 Human Rights Case Digest
 Human Rights Law Review
 Human Rights Quarterly
 Rights, Peter Jones
 Human Rights in
Developing Countries,
R.C. Hingorani
 An Encyclopedia of
Human Rights in the
United States
 In the reference section
 The United States and
Human Rights : Looking
Inward and Outward

6. WestVisayasStateUniversity
Janiuay Campus
SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Prepared by: John Ver G. Sosas, Arhmie Joy Geronimo and Dephanie Palermo
HUMAN RIGHTS IN A NUTSHELL
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
POLITICAL RIGHTS SOCIOECOMIC RIGHTSCIVIL RIGHTS RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED STATUTORY RIGHTS
RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL
RIGHT TO THE DUE
PROCESS OF LAW
RIGHT TO SEEK LEGAL
REMEDY
NATURAL RIGHTS
RIGHT TO A FREE AND
SPEEDY TRIAL
PRISONERS’ RIGHTS
RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF
ASSOCIATION OR UNION
RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE OR
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
RIGHT TO PETITION
RIGHT OF SELF-DEFENSE
RIGHT TO VOTE OR
SUFFRAGE
RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE
IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
RIGHT TO SOIL OR JUS
SOLI
RIGHT TO BLOOD OR JUS
SANGUINIS
FREEDOM OF
MOVEMENT
RIGHT TO ASYLUM
RIGHT OVER TALKS AND
COMMUNICATION
RIGHT TO LOVE RIGHT TO LIFE RIGHT TO A HEALTHY
ENVIRONMENT
RIGHT TO SHELTER AND
CLOTHING
RIGHT OF SELF-DEFENSE RIGHT TO NUTRITIOUS
FOOD
RIGHT TO WATER
RIGHT TO NATIONAL
IDENTITY
CONSUMER RIGHTS
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
LGBT RIGHTS
MINORITY RIGHTS
STUDENTS’ RIGHTS
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
FREEDOM FROM
TORTURE & EXECUTION
FREEDOM OF THOUGHT
AND SPEECH
FREEDOM OF RELIGION
AND CONSCIENCE
SEXUAL AND
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
RIGHT TO NATURAL
RESOURCES
RIGHT OVER CONTRACTS
AND AGREEMENTS
RIGHT TO A FAIR
COMPETITION
CORPORATE RIGHTS
PROTECTION AGAINST
ENSLAVEMENT
FREEDOMOF PRESS AND
INFORMATION
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
RIGHT TO KEEP AND
BEAR ARMS
RIGHT TO CIVIL
RECOGNITION
RIGHT TO REMAIN
SILENT
RIGHT OVER THE WRIT
OF HABEAS CORPUS
RIGHT TO PROTECTION
BEFORE THE LAW
RIGHT TO COMMERCE
AND TRADE
RIGHT TO HEALTH AND
SANITATION
RIGHT TO POSSESS A
PROPERTY
RIGHT OF PWDs AND
THE AGED
RIGHT TO
REPRESENTATION
RIGHT TO NON-
REFOULEMENT
RIGHT TO ENJOYMENT
AND ENTERTAINMENT
RIGHT OVER MILITARY
CONSCRIPTION
RIGHT AGAINST DOUBLE
JEOPARDY
RIGHT TO MARRY RIGHT TO LEGAL OR
SAFE ABORTION
RIGHT BY MARRIAGE
AND NATURALIZATION
RIGHT AGAINST
SEARCHES & SEIZURES
RIGHT TO BE SECURED
AT HOME
RIGHT TO BAIL
RIGHT AGAINST
EXCESSIVE FINES
FREEDOM FROM
DISCRIMINATION
FREEDOM FROM DEBT
IMPRISONMENT
RIGHT TO ADOPTION
RIGHT OVER MARRIAGE
ISSUES
RIGHT TO FRESH AIR
RIGHT TO ESTABLISH
RELATIONSHIP
RIGHT TO RESPECT OF
FAMILY LIFE
RIGHT TO PRIVACY OF
COMMUNICATION
RIGHT TO RESPECT OF
PRIVACY FOR ANYONE
RIGHT TO ABODE AND
TRAVEL
RIGHT TO ARTS AND
EXHIBITIONISM
RIGHT TO BE RESPECTED
AT ALL TIMES
RIGHT AGAINST
DEPRIVATION OF LIFE

7. WestVisayasStateUniversity
Janiuay Campus
SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Prepared by: John Ver G. Sosas, Arhmie Joy Geronimo and Dephanie Palermo
FORMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION
ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
The concept may be problematic in the Philippines but human rights are a vital component of most modern
democracies. Human rights allow a person to live with dignity and in peace, away from the abuses that can be inflicted
by abusive institutions or individuals. But the fact remains that there are rampant human rights violations around the
world.To further promote the importance of human rights in the Philippines, December 4 to 10 of each year is marked
as National Human Rights Consciousness Week via Republic Act No. 9201. The rights of Filipinos can be found in
Article III of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Also called the Bill of Rights, it includes 22 sections which declare a
Filipino citizen’s rights and privileges that the Constitution has to protect, no matter what.Aside from various local
laws, human rights in the Philippines are also guided by the UN's International Bill of Human Rights – a consolidation
of 3 legal documents including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR).As one of the signatories of these legal documents, the Philippines is obliged to recognize and apply
appropriate laws to ensure each right’s fulfillment. This is not always the case, however, as the Philippine Constitution
lacks explicit laws to further cement specific human rights in the local context.For example, the Right to Adequate
Food may be included in the UNDR but it is not explicitly indicated in the Philippine Constitution. Thus the
government cannot be held responsible if this is not attained.
WHO OVERSEES THE FULFILLMENT AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE PHILIPPINES?
Human rights are both rights and obligations, according to the UN. The state – or the government – is
obliged to “respect, protect, and fulfill” these rights. Respect begets commitment from state that no law should be
made to interfere or curtail the fulfillment of the stated human rights. Protecting means that human rights violations
should be prevented and if they exist, immediate action should be made. In the Philippines, the Commission on Human
Rights (CHR) primarily handles the investigations of human rights violations. However, it has no power to resolve
issues as stated in the Supreme Court decision in 1991. CHR was established in 1986 during the administration of
President Corazon Aquino and is an independent body which ensures the protection of human rights guaranteed by
the Bill of Rights. Aside from investigations, it also provides assistance and legal measures for the protection of
human rights guided by Section 18 Article XIII of the Philippine Constitution
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF CHR (Article 13, Section 18)
 To investigate, on its own or on complaint, all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political rights;
 To adopt its operational guidelines and rules of procedure, and cite for contempt for violations thereof in accordance with
the Rules of Court;
 To provide appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all persons within the Philippines, as well as
Filipinos residing abroad, and provide for preventive measures and legal aid services to the underprivileged whose human
rights have been violated or need protection;
 To exercise visitorial powers over jails, prisons, or detention facilities;
 To establish a continuing program of research, education, and information to enhance respect for the primacy of human
rights;
 To recommend to Congress effective measures to promote human rights and to provide for compensation to victims of
violations of human rights, or their families;
THINGS THAT BREECH HUMAN RIGHTS
POLITICAL RIGHTS SOCIOECOMIC RIGHTSCIVIL RIGHTS RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED STATUTORY RIGHTS
EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGSTERRORISM AND WARDEPRIVATION OF
CITIZENSHIP
CUT THROAT
COMPETITION
LGBT PERSECUTION
DEFAMATION AND
BLASPHEMY
BE DENIED OF SUFFRAGE TORTURE AND
EXECUTION
UNFAIR CHANGE AND
WEIGHING
PERSECUTION OF
MINORITIES
YELLOW JOURNALISM
AND WHITEWASHING
WIRETAPPING AND
BLACKMAILS
POLITICAL DYNASTY ARYANISM AND
PREJUDICE
UNINFORMED ARREST ARRANGE MARRIAGES
LOOTING
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
EXCESSIVE SEXUAL
PLEASURE
TRIAL LOBBYING

8. WestVisayasStateUniversity
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SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
Prepared by: John Ver G. Sosas, Arhmie Joy Geronimo and Dephanie Palermo
 To monitor the Philippine Government’s compliance with international treaty obligations on human rights;
 Grant immunity from prosecution to any person whose testimony or whose possession of documents or other evidence is
necessary or convenient to determine the truth in any investigation conducted by it or under its authority;
 Request the assistance of any department, bureau, office, or agency in the performance of its functions;
 Appoint its officers and employees in accordance with law; and
 Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law.
Atty. Ma. Asuncion Maravilla – Human Rights Commission SecretaryVitaliano Aguirre II – DOJ Secretary