Article 3 – Right to life, liberty and security
That little bit you need. Attention. That people care about you. That when you hit rock bottom, there's a way out. I'm doing better now.
Frank
He has been homeless for a period during his life.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person.
What does this right mean?
The right to life and the right to security of person are not self-evident. That is why they are explicitly included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The right to freedom means you may not be limited in what you do or not do. Other rights are included with this, as it were. Such as freedom of speech and the right to protest, but also that you may not be arrested for no reason.
The right to one's own body is the most primary, and by modern standards also the most final human right.
What is the history of this right?
This article was drafted with all the horrors in concentration camps and other places during the Second World War in mind. The right to life turned out to not be self-evident and was therefore explicitly included in this Universal Declaration. That also applied to the right to security of person.
An earlier version of the article stated that the right to freedom could be limited, if this was in accordance with the law AND after a fair trial. After a long discussion, this exception was finally omitted. Bienenfeld, the head of the legal department of the World Jewish Congress, pointed out during the negotiations that during the Second World War, thousands of people were stripped of their freedom and that this was allowed under ‘Nazi Law’ at the time. In order to prevent this from happening again, the right to freedom was eventually included without any restrictions.
Where and how is this right documented?
ECHR
In the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), the right to life is set out in Article 2. The rights to freedom and safety are in Article 5. The right to security can be found in Article 3, which prohibits the torturing or hurting of others. The ECHR was drafted in 1950 by the Council of Europe. After that, the European Court of Human Rights was founded, where people themselves can file complaints against a state for violating their human rights according to the ECHR.
ICCPR
Since 1966, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is in effect. The Netherlands is bound by this treaty too. The right to life is protected in Article 6. The right to freedom is in Article 9.
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
The rights to life and security are also in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in Articles 1, 2 and 3. The prohibition of torture is in Article 4. These articles are under the header ‘dignity’. Under ‘freedoms’, the rights to freedom and safety are set out, specifically in Article 6. Since 2009, this Charter is legally binding, which means that all organisations of the EU and its member states are beholden to it as they carry out Union law.
Constitution
In the Dutch Constitution, Article 3 of the Universal Declaration can be found as well. Article 11 gives everyone the right to security of body. This means everyone may decide for themselves what happens to their bodies. Article 15 of the Constitution forbids the deprivation of liberty, when this is not allowed by law. The right to life is not explicitly included in the Constitution.
How up to date is this human right?
A woman who has an unwanted pregnancy in the Netherlands has the freedom to choose to abort the pregnancy, and to not be restricted in her actions or inactions while doing so. In abortion, all elements of Article 3 of the UDHR come into play. Because opponents of abortion plead for the unborn child's right to life and do not believe women may abort unwanted pregnancies.
Anti-abortion demonstrations
Watch this Dutch TV episode of BOOS on protests near abortion clinics (see also the accompanying article), or read this news item on the judge's ruling [all in Dutch].
In order to express their opinion, some opponents protest (the right to protest is not specifically mentioned in this article, but it is a constitutional right). They would love to do this in the most effective way: to protest in front of the entrance of an abortion clinic, hoping to change women's minds in the process. This means it occasionally occurs that a woman has to walk past a group of protesters in order to enter the abortion clinic. In the process, women are sometimes addressed by the protesters when they do not want to be.
This is an example of conflicting rights; the woman has the rights to freedom and security of person. Under these rights, she is not to be hindered by the protesters, who are in turn standing up for her unborn baby's rights.