This document provides an overview of human rights and fundamental rights. It discusses: - The definition and categories of human rights according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. - The three generations of rights: civil/political, economic/social/cultural, and collective rights. - The difference between positive and negative rights. - Key principles of human rights such as being inherent, fundamental, inalienable, etc. - Major international human rights treaties and their monitoring bodies. - How human rights are protected domestically through constitutional rights and incorporation of treaties into domestic law.

1. Advanced Training Programme on Human Rights
and Fundamental Rights
Kusal Kavinda Amarasinghe
LL.B (Hons), Faculty of Law ,University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Center for the Study of Human Rights,
University of Colombo

2. Human rights are rights inherent to all human
beings, whatever our nationality, place of
residence, sex, national or ethnic origin,
colour, religion, language, or any other status.
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

3. Generation of Rights Category of Rights
1st Generation Rights Civil and Political Rights
Ex – Right to Expression
2nd Generation Rights Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights
Ex – Right to occupation
3rd Generation Rights Collective Rights
Ex – Environmental Rights

4.  Positive Rights – ‘given’ Rights
A positive right is a right to be subjected to an action of
another person or group. In other words, for a positive right
to be exercised, someone else's actions must be added to the
equation.
Ex –Economic , Social and Cultural Rights
 Negative Rights -‘innate’ Rights
A negative right is a right not to be subjected to an action of
another person or group or government
Ex – Civil and Political Rights
A liberal calcification to Human Rights

5.  1. Inherent
 2. Fundamental
 3. Inalienable
 4. Imprescriptibly
 5. Indivisible
 7. Interdependent

6. Short
Form Convention Enacted
Date
Monitoring
body
UDHR The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 10 Dec 1948 OHCHR
ICERD International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination 21 Dec 1965 CERD
ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 16 Dec 1966 CCPR
ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 16 Dec 1966 CESCR
CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women 18 Dec 1979 CEDAW
CAT Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment 10 Dec 1984 CAT
CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child 20 Nov 1989 CRC
ICRMW International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families 18 Dec 1990 CMW
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance 20 Dec 2006
ICRPD Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 13 Dec 2006 CRDP

7. Based on UDHR
 Commission on Human Rights(1946 -2006 )
 Human Rights Council (2006)
 Universal Periodic Review
 Special Procedures of the Human Rights
Council
 Human Rights Council Complaint Procedure

8. Treaty Body
Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination
Committee on the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination (CERD)
International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights
Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights
Human Rights Committee (HRC)
Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against
Women.
Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW)
Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
Committee against Torture (CAT)

9. Treaty Body
Convention on the Rights of the
Child
Committee on the Rights of the
Child (CRC)
International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of
Their Families
Committee on Migrant Workers
(CMW)
Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
Subcommittee on Prevention of
Torture (SPT)
Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities
Committee on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
Convention for the Protection of all
Persons from Enforced
Disappearance
Committee on Enforced
Disappearances (CED)

10.  Human Rights
Fundamental Rights

11. Article Right
Article 10 Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
Article 11 Freedom from torture
Article 12 Right to equality before the Law
Article 13 Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention and punishment
and prohibition of retrospective penal legislation.
Article 14 Freedom of speech, assembly, association, occupation and
movement
Article 14(A) Right of access to information
Article 17 Remedy for the infringement of fundamental rights by
executive action

12. Right Sri Lankan
Constitution
UDHR Other
International HR
Instruments
Freedom of thought, conscience and
religion
Article 10 Article 18 ICCPR
ICESCR
Freedom from torture Article 11 Article 05 CAT
ICCPR
Right to equality before the Law Article 12 Article 07 ICCPR
ICESCR
Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention
and punishment and prohibition of
retrospective penal legislation.
Article 13 Article 09 CAT
ICCPR
Freedom of speech, assembly,
association, occupation and movement
Article 14 Article 19
Article 13
ICCPR
Right of access to information Article 14(A) Article 19 ICCPR
Remedy for the infringement of
fundamental rights by executive action
Article 17 Article 08 ICCPR

13.  Only 05 out of 18
 Only 08 out of 18
 Only 14 out of 18
 Only 16 out of 18
 None of Above

16. Pacta sunt Servanda - “agreements must be kept”
Monism –
ex – Members of European Union
Dualism –
ex – Sri Lanka
NALLARATNAM SINGHARASA vs, Attorney General

17.  Convention Against Torture And Other Cruel, Inhuman Or
Degrading Treatment Or Punishment Act No 22 Of 1994
 Convention On Preventing And Combating Trafficking In
Women And Children For Prostitution Act No 30 Of 2005
 International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights (ICCPR)
Act No 56 Of 2007
 Women’s Charter - 1993
 The Charter On The Rights On The Child

18. Police attack to the University Students 13th of March 2019
while they were protesting against the proposed Counter-
Terrorism Act (Bill)
Video - Inter University Students’ Federation Official Facebook Page
 Is this a violation of Human Rights?
 Is this a infringement of Fundamental Rights?
 Does domestic Criminal Law apply for this?
Yes, this is a violation of Human Rights
Yes, this is a infringement of Fundamental Rights
Yes, this is a punishable criminal offence

19.  Article 11 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, 'No person shall be subjected
to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.'
In the event of an inhuman assault on a person in Police custody, it is a
violation of Fundamental Rights.
 Article 5 of UDHR
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
 Sri Lanka is a state party for the Convention Against Torture And Other
Cruel, Inhuman Or Degrading Treatment Or Punishment. (CAT)
Under Article 2 of this convention
Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or
other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its
jurisdiction.
According to Article 4 of the convention
Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offenses under
its criminal law.
 Convention Against Torture And Other Cruel, Inhuman Or Degrading
Treatment Or Punishment Act No. 22 of 1994,
Any person who tortures any other person shall be guilty of an offense
under the domestic Criminal Law.

20.  CEDAW - The Convention permits ratification
subject to reservations, provided that the
reservations are not incompatible with the object
and purpose of the Convention.
 Article 16 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka (1978)
All existing written law and unwritten law shall be
valid and operative notwithstanding any
inconsistency with the preceding provisions of
this (Fundamental Rights) Chapter.