We explain what the right to life is and what international treaties protect it. His conflict with the death penalty.
What is the right to life?
The right to life is one of the most fundamental human rights, if not the most fundamental, established in the vast majority of modern legal systems.
Is the right of any human being in the world to continue living without its existence being threatened by third parties, be they people or institutions (governmental or not). Furthermore, they protects from any form of abuse or violence that they make their life an unworthy existence.
The right to life is justified by numerous philosophical, religious, sociological, ethical and even biological approaches. It is considered fundamental in numerous international treaties and civil legislation, being the basis of any other recognizable set of rights.
Slavery, terrorism, genocide, forced disappearance and ill-treatment are considered to violate this basic human right. Any person who engages in such activities can and must be persecuted and prosecuted by the different governments of the world, without this type of crime ever having a statute of limitations.
However, like other rights, the right to life is neither absolute nor resounding. There are situations in which violence is used with legitimate right, such as situations of armed conflict.
Even so, There is a set of rules regarding what situations justify violating another human being and which crimes are simply unjustifiable and are therefore considered crimes against humanity.
Instead, Other cases are particularly controversial when talking about the right to life, such as abortion, euthanasia, suicide or the death penalty.
See also: Fundamental rights
International treaties
The right to life is enshrined in numerous international orders, the most important of all being the Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations Organization which reads: “Every individual has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”
Other treaties that also contemplate this right are:
- The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
- The American Convention on Human Rights;
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child;
- The Pact of San José of Costa Rica;
- The Convention for the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
- The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;
- The Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
- The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Right to child life
The right to life, in the case of children, It is measured through different indices and rates that various international organizations such as the UN use to measure the quality of life in countries.
For example, the Human Development Index (HDI) It is a method designed in 1990 to evaluate the development of countries that considers the preservation of human rights, nor the development of the capabilities of the population. This is how it differs from the measurement of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which offers purely economic information.
And together with the HDI, to measure the right to child life, it is considered the Infant and Child Mortality Rate under 5 years of age (TMM5) calculated according to the following parameters:
- Knowledge of mother's health;
- The number of doctors available per 1000 inhabitants;
- The country's vaccination rate;
- Access to maternity and child health services;
- The food ration per inhabitant;
- Household income and availability of food;
- The availability of drinking water and sanitation processes;
- The social security available to the child.
Death penalty
The death penalty or capital punishment It is the death sentence that is accepted in some countries and legal orders. In them, the State decides that the crimes committed and proven are unforgivable, and merit the execution of the accused. This punishment had its origin in Roman Law, and was administered especially for perduellio (treason).
The death penalty It is not seen well by those who fight for the right to life since a State that executes its citizens contradicts such a right and could, given the conditions, administer this punishment at its discretion.
Even so, currently, Of the countries that make up the UN, 55 maintain the death penalty in their legislation, although strongly regulated, and 102 have definitively abolished it.
Continue with: Right to work
References
- “Right to life” on Wikipedia.
- “The importance of the right to life” by Andra Fabiana Mac Donald in the Argentine Legal Information System (SAIJ).
- “Article 3: Right to life” in the United Nations Organization.
- “The meaning of the right to life and its protection” at UNHCR.
- “Right to Life” at Council of Europe.
- “Right to Life” at International Justice Resource Center.
