Rights

To be aware about the rights that one is entitled to is very important. Being on the top of things and situations is a good trait to have. Human rights are values that each human being is entitled to upon birth. They are intended to protect our basic freedoms and needs, and include sexual and reproductive rights. Human rights can be found in international treaties, charters, conventions, and covenants. They are interlinked; for example, if a person is denied access to education and information it can impact the person’s right to health and employment. Similarly if a person is denied information and health, it can impact her right to decide whether, when and with whom to have a child. Do you know the Human Rights that have been provided to every human being living on earth?

Reproductive Health Rights

Rocketa and Rocketi would like to give you some information about Reproductive Health Rights.

Reproductive health was defined in the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994 as: A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes. Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so (UNFPA 1995 Art. 7.2).

The ICPD established a number of goals and targets, including universal access to reproductive health services by 2015 (UNFPA 1995). On induced abortion, the ICPD consensus statement noted

All Governments and relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations are urged to strengthen their commitment to women’s health, to deal with the health impact of unsafe abortion as a major public health concern and to reduce the recourse to abortion through expanded and improved family planning services…In circumstances where abortion is not against the law, such abortion should be safe. In all cases, women should have access to quality services for management of complications arising from abortion. Postabortion counseling, education and family-planning services should be offered promptly, which will also help to avoid repeat abortion (UNFPA 1995, Arts. 7.6, 7.16 and 8.25).

Similarly, charter on Sexual and Reproductive Rights has been sketched out by the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Listed below are the rights that you should be aware about.

 

Human Right
Description

1. The right to life

 

 The life of no woman should be put at risk due to pregnancy or an unsafe abortion.

2. The right to liberty and security of the person

 

 No one should be subjected to genital mutilation, forced pregnancy, sterilization, or forced abortion.

3. The right to be free from torture and ill treatment

 

 Women, men, and youth are protected from violence, exploitation, abuse, and any other ill treatment.

4. The right to information and education

 

 Access to complete information about sexual and reproductive health, including information about the benefits, risks, and effectiveness of all types of birth control.

5. The right to freedom of thought

 

 Freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and opinions on one’s sexual and reproductive health. Cannot use religion, beliefs, customs, or philosophies to restrict sexual and reproductive health care.

6. The right to equality and to be free from all forms of discrimination

 

 No one should be discriminate against in his/her sexual and reproductive life due to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family position, age, religion, language, place of origin, etc. A person can choose his/her sexual partner without discrimination.

7. The right to privacy

 

 All sexual and reproductive health services should be confidential and everyone should have the right to choose their reproductive options on their own.

8. The right to choose whether or not to marry and to plan and have a family

 

 Protects against marriage without full consent. Governments should set and enforce laws relating to minimum age for consent and for marriage.

9. The right to decide whether or not to have children and when to have them

 

 The right to freely decide the number and spacing of children and access to the information and resources to exercise this right.

10. The right to health care and health protection

 

 Includes the right to the highest quality of health care and the right to be free from traditional practices that are harmful to health.

11. The right to the benefits of scientific progress

 

 Includes the right to use new reproductive technologies that are safe, effective, and acceptable.

12. The right to freedom of assembly and political participation

 

 Includes the right to influence communities and governments in order to prioritize health and sexual/reproductive rights.

General Rights

Includes the right to influence communities and governments in order to prioritize health and sexual/reproductive rights.
If you don’t, Rocketa and Rocketi will briefly let you know about them and if you do know the human rights already, you could just refresh your memory by reading the following!

  • When children are born, they are free, and each should be treated in the same way. They have reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a friendly manner.
  • Everyone can claim the following rights, regardless of his or her: Gender, skin color, language, political beliefs, religion, wealth or poverty, social group, country of birth, country’s status as independent or not.
  • You have the right to live and to live in freedom and safety.
  • Nobody has the right to treat you as his or her slave, and you should not make anyone your slave.
  • Nobody has the right to torture you.
  • You should be legally protected in the same way everywhere and in the same way everyone else is protected.
  • The law is the same for everyone; it should be applied in the same way to all.
  • You should be able to ask for legal help when the rights your country grants you are not respected.
  • Nobody has the right to put you in prison, to keep you there, or to send you away from your country unjustly or without a good reason.
  • If you must go on trial, the trial should be conducted in public. The people who try you should not let themselves be influenced by others.
  • You should be considered innocent until you are proved guilty. If you are accused of a crime, you should always have the right to defend yourself. Nobody has the right to condemn you or punish you for something you have not done.
  • You have the right to ask to be protected if someone tries to harm your good name, enter your house, open your mail, or bother you or your family without a good reason.
  • You have the right to come and go as you wish within your country. You have the right to leave your country to go to another one; and you should be able to return to your country if you want.
  • If someone hurts you, you have the right to seek asylum (safe haven) in another country. You may lose this right if you have committed a serious violation of human rights.
  • You have the right to belong to a country, and nobody can prevent you, without a good reason, from belonging to another country if you wish.
  • As soon as a person is legally entitled to do so, he or she has the right to marry and have a family. Neither the color of your skin, nor the country you come from, nor your religion should be impediments to doing this. Men and women have the same rights when they are married and also when they are separated. Nobody should force a person to marry. The government of your country should protect your family and its members.
  • You have the right to own things, and nobody has the right to take these from you without a good reason.
  • You have the right to profess your religion freely, to change it, and to practice it on your own or with others.
  • You have the right to think what you want and to say what you like, and nobody should forbid you from doing so. You have a right to share your ideas with anyone — including people from any other country.
  • You have the right to organize peaceful meetings or to take part in meetings in a peaceful way. No one has the right to force you to belong to a group.
  • You have the same right as anyone else to take part in your country’s political affairs. You may do this by belonging to the government yourself or by choosing politicians who have the same ideas as you do. Governments should be elected regularly, and voting should be secret. You should be allowed to vote, and all votes should be counted equally.
  • The society in which you live should help you to develop and to make the most of all the advantages (culture, work, social welfare) that are offered to you and to everyone in your country.
  • You have the right to work, to be free to choose your work, and to receive a salary that allows you to live and support your family. If a man and a woman do the same work, they should get the same pay. All people who work have the right to join together to protect and defend their interests.
  • Workdays should not be very long, because everyone has the right to rest and should be able to take regular paid holidays.
  • You have the right to have whatever you need so that you and your family do not become ill; do not go hungry; have clothes and a house; and receive help if you are out of work, if you are ill, if you are old, if your wife or husband is dead, or if you are unable to earn a living for any other reason that you cannot help. Both a mother who is going to have a baby and her baby should get special help. Every child has the same rights as every other child, whether or not its mother is married.
  • You have the right to go to school; everyone should be able to go to school. Primary schooling should be free. You should be able to learn a profession or skill or continue your studies as far as you wish. At school, you should be able to develop all your talents. You should be taught to get along with others, whatever their race, religion, or background. Your parents have the right to choose how and what you are taught at school.
  • You have the right to share in your community’s arts and sciences, and in any good they do. Your works as an artist, a writer, or a scientist should be protected, and you should be able to benefit from them.
  • To ensure that your rights are respected, an “order” must be established that can protect them. This “order” should be local and worldwide.
  • You have duties toward your community. The law should guarantee your human rights. It should allow everyone to respect others and to be respected.
  • No society and no human being in any part of the world should act in such a way as to destroy the rights that are listed here.