1. HUMAN RIGHTS

2. Human rights
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. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.

3. The UN
One of the great achievements of the United Nations is the creation of a comprehensive body of human rights law. The organization has defined a broad range of internationally accepted rights, including political and civil rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights.

4. UN purposes To maintain international peace and security
To develop friendly relations among nations
To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character
To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends

5. Human rights law
The foundations of human rights law are the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly in 1945 and 1948, respectively.

6. The UN Charter
The Preamble to the UN Charter explicitly affirms “faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small”. Article 1 establishes that one of the four main tasks of the United Nations is to promote and encourage “respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”

7. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Three years after the United Nations was created, the General Assembly laid the cornerstone of contemporary human rights law: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, intended as a “common standard of achievement for all peoples.” It was adopted on 10 December 1948, the day now observed worldwide as International Human Rights Day.

8. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its First Optional Protocol, providing the right of petition to individuals, entered into force in 1976.
The Covenant deals with such rights as freedom of movement; equality before the law; the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; freedom of opinion and expression; peaceful assembly; freedom of association; participation in public affairs and elections; and the protection of minority rights.

9. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entered into force in 1976, and has 148 state parties.
The human rights that the Covenant seeks to promote and protect include:
- The right to work in just and favourable conditions.
- The right to social protection, to an adequate standard of living and to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental well-being.
- The right to education and the enjoyment of benefits of cultural freedom and scientific progress.

10. The International Bill of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration, together with the two International Covenants on Human Rights and their Optional Protocols, comprise the International Bill of Human Rights.

11. Three generations of human rights
The division of human rights into three generations was introduced in 1979 by Czech jurist Karel Vasak. The three categories are:
Civil-political
Socio-economic
Collective-developmental

12. The first generation
Civil-political human rights include two subtypes: norms pertaining to physical and civil security (f.e. no torture, slavery, inhumane treatment, arbitrary arrest; equality before the law) and norms pertaining to civil-political liberties or empowerments (for example, freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; freedom of assembly and voluntary association; political participation in one’s society).

13. The second generation
Socio-economic human rights guarantee equal conditions and treatment.
Economic rights include the right to work, the right to the free choice of employment and to just and favourable conditions of work; the right to form and join trade unions: the right to strike; the right to social security; and the right to own property.

14. Social rights Rights to social security and social insurance
Rights necessary for full participation in the the life of society
The protection of families, children and persons with disabilities
‚Civil’ rights: for example, the rights to recreation, health care, privacy and freedom from discrimination

15. Collective-developmental human rights
Collective-developmental human rights include two subtypes: the self-determination of peoples (for example, to their political status and their economic, social, and cultural development) and certain special rights of ethnic and religious minorities (for example, to the enjoyment of their own cultures, languages, and religions).

16. Read the text carefully and answer the following questions:
1. Where are human rights enshrined?
2. What is the essence of the idea of human rights?
3. Which UN documents constitute the foundation of human rights law?
4. When is the international day of human rights?
5. What does the International Bill of Human Rights consist of?
6. What are some of the other human rights conventions?

17. Discuss the following quotes:
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” (J.F. Kennedy)
“To deny people of their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” (Nelson Mandela)
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. … Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerned citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.” (Eleanor Roosevelt)

18. Translate the following:
U drugom stavku članka 48 Ustav određuje: ''Vlasništvo obvezuje. Nositelji vlasničkog prava i njihovi korisnici dužni su pridonositi općem dobru.'' Vlasništvo, dakle, nije samo pravo raspolagati svojom imovinom, već i dužnost pridonositi općem dobru razmjerno opsegu te imovine. Ta norma predstavlja ustavni temelj za zakonsko uređivanje poreznih obveza na temelju vlasništva.

19. A suggested translation
Paragraph 2 of Article 48 the Constitution provides: "Ownership implies obligations. Owners and users of property shall contribute to the general welfare." Ownership, therefore, is not just the right to dispose of one's own property, but also a duty to contribute to the general welfare in proportion with the scope of that property. That norm represents the constitutional ground/foundation for the legal regulation of tax obligations based on ownership.

20. Thank you for your attention!