Human rights and individual guarantees

Human rights are those that include the rights and obligations that all people have, without any type of racial, gender, nationality, age or other distinction..

Individual guarantees are mechanisms for the protection of the rights of individuals, established in the constitution of each country..

The difference between human rights and individual guarantees is that the latter are the concrete expressions that will effectively allow human rights to be respected, appealing to the legal framework of each country..

What are human rights?

Human rights refer to all the rights and obligations inherent to human beings, and that are obtained only by the fact of being born, without any other type of condition..

These rights are described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document proclaimed in the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948, at the end of World War II..

Human rights are universal in nature and must be fulfilled and respected by all States through multiple mechanisms, such as international treaties, international law, and the countries' own constitutions..

Human rights principles

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes five basic principles:

Human rights are universal and inalienable

This is the essential principle of human rights, since it establishes the duty of States to promote these rights, above their political, economic and cultural systems..

Human rights are also inalienable. In this sense, they cannot be eliminated, unless the situation is exceptional and there is a guarantee of due legal process. For example, if a person is guilty of having committed a crime, a court must restrict their right to liberty, as established in the laws of that country..

Human rights are interdependent and indivisible

All human rights are interrelated, so that progress made in one of them benefits the rest, while setbacks or deprivations also affect the exercise of the remaining rights equally..

Human rights are non-discriminatory

Under this principle, any type of discrimination against people based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual or political preferences, etc., is prohibited. In addition, the principle of non-discrimination is complemented by that of equality, which establishes that all human beings are born free and with equal rights..

See also

• Racism and xenophobia
• Prejudice, racism and discrimination

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

This is the name of the document that concentrates the 30 articles with the fundamental human rights that must be protected universally.

It was proclaimed on December 10, 1948 at the United Nations General Assembly in Paris, and its drafting required representatives from various countries, cultures, and traditions, helping to show a broad perspective on what human rights implied in various parts of the world.

Among the most prominent articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are:

Article 1

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and, endowed as they are with reason and conscience, must behave fraternally with one another.

Article 13

Everyone has the right to move freely and to choose their residence in the territory of a State.

Article 28

Everyone has the right to establish a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms proclaimed in this Declaration are fully effective..

See also:

• Rights and obligations of children.
• Difference between freedom and debauchery.

What are individual guarantees?

Individual guarantees are understood to be all the mechanisms established in a constitution to protect the human rights of a person..

In this sense, individual guarantees are the expression of the obligation that States have contracted as guarantors of fundamental rights..

Therefore, it can be said that individual guarantees are all the legal means a person has to enforce their rights.

Characteristics of individual guarantees

Individual guarantees have five fundamental characteristics:

• They are universal: apply to all people, from birth.
• They are inalienable: you can't give them up.
• They are imprescriptible: they are not extinguished.
• They are inalienable: the person cannot be deleted.
• They are limiting of the power of the State: the state lacks power over them.
• They are protected by constitutional protection: in the event that a human right is not protected by an individual guarantee, an amparo can be used to fulfill this function.

Types of guarantees

Constitutional guarantees are divided into four broad categories:

Equality guarantees

They are all the mechanisms that guarantee the elimination of distinctions between individuals, understanding that all are equal and therefore, are in the same situation before the law.

In the first article of the Mexican constitution, it is established:

In the United Mexican States, every individual shall enjoy the guarantees granted by this Constitution, which may not be restricted or suspended, except in the cases and with the conditions that it establishes.

See also Difference between equality and equity.

Guarantees of freedom

They are the guarantees that ensure that the individual can act freely in society.

Article six of the Mexican constitution states:

The manifestation of ideas will not be the subject of any judicial or administrative inquisition, but in the event that it attacks morality, the rights of a third party, causes a crime, or disturbs public order; the right of reply will be exercised in the terms provided by law.

Property warranties

They refer to the protection of the right of individuals to access land for productive purposes, either as owner or landlord, understanding that the ownership of land and water belongs to the State, but the State has to create the mechanisms to transfer it to the individuals.

Article 27 of the Mexican constitution sums it up like this:

The ownership of the lands and waters comprised within the limits of the national territory, corresponds originally to the Nation, which has had and has the right to transmit ownership of them to individuals, constituting private property.

Guarantees of legal security

They are all mechanisms that protect the privacy and due process of individuals.

The Mexican constitution describes it thus in its article 16:

No one can be bothered in his person, family, possessions or domicile, if there is no written order.

See also:

• Difference between human rights and fundamental rights.
• Difference between alarm, exception and site status.
• Direct and indirect protection.