Introduction
Obligation is an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound. states are the primary duty bearers of human rights obligations. The states have also a duty to provide a remedy at the domestic level for human rights violations. International human rights treaties and customary law impose three obligations on states: the duty to respect, the duty to protect, the duty to fulfil
The State’s Obligation to respect, protect and fulfil
Right to life
Respect: The police shall not intentionally take the life of a suspect to prevent his or her escape.
Protect: Life-threatening attacks by an individual against other persons
(attempted homicide) shall be crimes carrying appropriate penalties under domestic criminal law. The police shall duly investigate such crimes to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Fulfil: The authorities shall take legislative and administrative measures to progressively reduce child mortality and other types of mortality whose underlying causes can be combated.
Prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment
Respect: The police shall not use torture in questioning detainees.
Protect: The authorities shall take legislative and other measures against domestic violence.
Fulfil: The authorities shall train police officers in acceptable methods of questioning.
Right to vote
Respect: The authorities shall not interfere with the voting procedure and shall respect the election results.
Protect: The authorities shall organize voting by secret ballot to preclude threats by persons in power (such as politicians, heads of clan or family or employers).
Fulfil: The authorities shall organize free and fair elections and ensure that as many citizens as possible can vote.
Right to education
Respect: The authorities shall respect the liberty of parents to choose schools for their children.
Protect: The authorities shall ensure that third parties, including parents, do not prevent girls from going to school.
Fulfil: The authorities shall take positive measures to ensure that education is culturally appropriate for minorities and indigenous peoples, and of good quality for all.
Right to health
Respect: The authorities shall not restrict the right to health (inter alia through forced sterilization or medical experimentation).
Protect: Female genital mutilation shall be prohibited and eradicated.
Fulfil: An adequate number of hospitals and other public healthcare facilities shall provide services equally accessible to all.
Right to food
Respect: The authorities shall refrain from any measures that would prevent access to adequate food (for instance, arbitrary eviction from land).
Protect: The authorities shall adopt laws or take other measures to prevent powerful people or organizations from violating the right to food
(such as a company polluting the water supply or a landowner evicting peasants).
Fulfil: The authorities shall implement policies – such as agrarian reform – to ensure the population’s access to adequate food and the capacity of vulnerable groups to feed themselves.
Responsibilities of the state to protect
- The right to an effective remedy
- The principle of progressive realization
- The right to recourse to an international or regional human rights mechanism
- The right to reparation of harm suffered
- Remedies for violation of economic, social and cultural rights
