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May 30, 2004

American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man

Law Desk
The American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man is the world's first International human rights instrument of a general nature. The basic essence of the declaration is all men are born free and equal, in dignity and in rights and being endowed by nature with reason and conscience, they should conduct themselves as brothers one to another. The Declaration was adopted by the nations of the Americas at the Ninth International Conference of American States in Bogota, Colombia, in April 1948. The same meeting that adopted the Charter of the Organisation of American States and thereby created the OAS.

In the preamble it is explained that, the fulfilment of duty by each individual is a prerequisite to the rights of all. Rights and duties are interrelated in every social and political activity of man. While rights exalt individual liberty, duties express the dignity of that liberty. Although strictly speaking a declaration is not a legally binding treaty, the jurisprudence of both the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights holds it to be a source of binding international obligations for the OAS's member states.

The American peoples have acknowledged the dignity of the individual. Moreover their national constitutions recognise that juridical and political institutions, which regulate life in human society, have as their principal aim for the protection of the essential rights of man and the creation of circumstances that will permit him to achieve spiritual and material progress and attain happiness. The American States have on repeated occasions recognised that the essential rights of man are not derived from the fact that he is a national of a certain state, but are based upon attributes of his human personality;

Chapter One of the Declaration sets forth a catalogue of civil and political rights to be enjoyed by the citizens of the signatory nations, together with additional economic, social, and cultural rights due to them. In brief it includes the following rights: right to life, liberty and personal security; right to equality before law; right to religious freedom and worship; right to freedom of investigation, opinion, expression and dissemination; right to protection of honour, personal reputation, and private and family life; right to a family and to protection for mothers and children; right to residence and movement; right to the inviolability and transmission of correspondence; right to the preservation of health and to well-being; right to education.

Every person has the right to receive, free, at least a primary education; right to the benefits of culture; right to work and to fair remuneration, leisure time and social security; right to recognition of juridical personality, civil rights and fair trial; right to nationality, vote and to participate in government; right of assembly, association, property; right to due process of law and right of asylum.

As a corollary, its second chapter contains a list of corresponding duties. These are: Duties to society, towards children and parents; duty to vote obeys the law, to serve the community and the nation; duties with respect to social security, welfare and pay taxes; duty to work, refrain from political activities in a foreign country.

Source: Wikipedia.